Engineering Commons^™

An Investigation Of Information Sought By Caregivers Of Alzheimer’S Patients On Online Peer-Support Groups, Emma Scharett, Kapil Chalil Madathil, Snehal Lopes, Hunter Rogers, Sruthy Agnisarman, Shraddhaa Narasimha, Aparna Ashok, Cheryl Dye

Publications

Alzheimer’s caregivers seek social support through online communities to deal with their issues. The research team conducted a content analysis of ALZConnected.org to investigate the characteristics of information searched by caregivers and responses received. Two-hundred fifty posts and related responses were randomly selected and analyzed using a classification tool derived from the analysis of 500 posts and related responses spanning a yearlong period. The Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIW C) generated an average tone rating of 25.94 for the posts and 52.69 for the responses. The findings highlighted the caregiver’s need for emotional support (59.6%), and confusion about Alzheimer’s …

Rates And Causes Of Accidents For General Aviation Aircraft Operating In A Mountainous And High Elevation Terrain Environment, Marisa Aguiar, Alan Stolzer, Douglas D. Boyd

Publications

Flying over mountainous and/or high elevation terrain is challenging due to rapidly changeable visibility, gusty/rotor winds and downdrafts and the necessity of terrain avoidance. Herein, general aviation accident rates and mishap cause/factors were determined (2001–2014) for a geographical region characterized by such terrain.

Accidents in single piston engine-powered aircraft for states west of the US continental divide characterized by mountainous terrain and/or high elevation (MEHET) were identified from the NTSB database. MEHET-related-mishaps were defined as satisfying any one, or more, criteria (controlled flight into terrain/obstacles (CFIT), downdrafts, mountain obscuration, wind-shear, gusting winds, whiteout, instrument meteorological conditions; density altitude, dust-devil) cited …

Water Resources Adaptation To Climate And Demand Change In The Potomac River, James H. Stagge, Glenn E. Moglen

Publications

The effects of climate change are increasingly considered in conjunction with changes in water demand and reservoir sedimentation in forecasts of water supply vulnerability. Here, the relative effects of these factors are evaluated for the Washington, DC metropolitan area water supply for the near (2010 to 2039), intermediate (2040-2069), and distant future (2070 to 2099) by repeated water resources model simulations. This system poses water management challenges due to long water delivery travel times that increase uncertainty, multiple water jurisdictions that constrain potential decisions, and future scenarios that simultaneously increase demand and decrease water supply during the critical summer period. …

Convergence Of The Fast State Estimation For Power Systems, Md Ashfaqur Rahman, Ganesh Kumar Venayagamoorthy

Publications

Power system state estimation is a fundamental computational process that requires both speed and reliability. To meet the needs, some variants of the constant Jacobian methods have been used in the industry over the last several decades. The variants work very well under normal operating conditions with nominal values of the states. However, the convergence of the methods are not analysed mathematically and it may contain pitfalls. In this study, the convergence of the constant Jacobian methods are analysed and it is shown that the methods fail under high variations of the states. To increase the reliability of the processes, …

A Sustainable Approach For Tungsten Carbide Synthesis Using Renewable Biopolymers, Monsur Islam, Rodrigo Martinez-Duarte

Publications

Here we present a sustainable, environment-friendly and energy-efficient approach for synthesis of porous tungsten carbide (WC). A biopolymer-metal oxide composite featuring iota-carrageenan, chitin and tungsten trioxide (WO3) was used as the precursor material. The reaction mechanism for the synthesis of WC was estimated using the results from X-ray diffraction characterization (XRD). A synthesis temperature of 1300 °C and dwell time of 3 h were found to be the optimum process parameters to obtain WC>98% pure. The grain size, porosity and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area of the synthesized WC were characterized using field emission scanning electron microscopy, high resolution transmission …

Lb3d: A Parallel Implementation Of The Lattice-Boltzmann Method For Simulation Of Interacting Amphiphilic Fluids, S. Schmieschek, L. Shamardin, S. Frijters, T. Krüger, U. D. Schiller, J. Harting, P. V. Coveney

Publications

We introduce the lattice-Boltzmann code LB3D, version 7.1. Building on a parallel program and supporting tools which have enabled research utilising high performance computing resources for nearly two decades, LB3D version 7 provides a subset of the research code functionality as an open source project. Here, we describe the theoretical basis of the algorithm as well as computational aspects of the implementation. The software package is validated against simulations of meso-phases resulting from self-assembly in ternary fluid mixtures comprising immiscible and amphiphilic components such as water–oil–surfactant systems. The impact of the surfactant species on the dynamics of spinodal decomposition are …

Forces And Disease: Electrostatic Force Differences Caused By Mutations In Kinesin Motor Domains Can Distinguish Between Disease-Causing And Non-Disease-Causing Mutations, Lin Li, Yunhui Peng, Subash Godar, Ivan Getov, Shaolei Teng, Joshua Alper, Emil Alexov

Publications

The ability to predict if a given mutation is disease-causing or not has enormous potential to impact human health. Typically, these predictions are made by assessing the effects of mutation on macromolecular stability and amino acid conservation. Here we report a novel feature: the electrostatic component of the force acting between a kinesin motor domain and tubulin. We demonstrate that changes in the electrostatic component of the binding force are able to discriminate between disease-causing and non-disease-causing mutations found in human kinesin motor domains using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC). Because diseases may originate from multiple effects not related to …

Economic Impact Of World Bank Aviation Investment In Pacific Island Countries, Cindy Greenman, Javad Gorjidooz

Publications

The World Bank Group (WBG) has provided grant and credits to support projects related to aviation and air transport including capacity building, policy and regulation, safety and security, infrastructure rehabilitation, and institutional strengthening for over 60 years. Today, the WBG remains actively engaged on aviation related project in every region of the world including the Pacific Island Countries. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the economic impact of WBG investments in aviation infrastructures in Pacific Island Countries. The preliminary results of this study show a serious deficiency in the areas of aviation infrastructure, safety and security, management efficiency, …

Real-Time Traffic State Estimation With Connected Vehicles, Sakib Mahmud Khan, Kaken Dey, Mashrur Chowdhury

Publications

A novel framework is developed in this paper, to increase the real-time roadway traffic condition assessment accuracy, which integrates connected vehicle technology (CVT) with artificial intelligence (AI) paradigm forming a CVT-AI method. Traffic density is a major indicator of traffic conditions. In this paper, the traffic operational condition is assessed based on traffic density. A simulated network of Interstate 26 in South Carolina is developed to investigate the effectiveness of the method. The assumption is that the vehicle onboard units will forward the CV generated data to the edge devices (e.g., roadside units) for further processing. CV generated distance headway …

Human Factors For Small Net Habitable Volume: The Case For A Close-Quarter Space Habitat Analog, Victor Kitmanyen, Timothy J. Disher, Ryan L. Kobrick, Jason P. Kring

Publications

Increasing efforts in sending humans to Mars calls for greater considerations of the ways in which vehicle and habitat design can influence crew performance and behavioral health.

Road Accidents Bigdata Mining And Visualization Using Support Vector Machines, Usha Lokala, Srinivas Nowduri, Prabhakar K Sharma

Publications

Useful information has been extracted from the road accident data in United Kingdom (UK), using data analytics method, for avoiding possible accidents in rural and urban areas. This analysis make use of several methodologies such as data integration, support vector machines (SVM), correlation machines and multinomial goodness. The entire datasets have been imported from the traffic department of UK with due permission. The information extracted from these huge datasets forms a basis for several predictions, which in turn avoid unnecessary memory lapses. Since data is expected to grow continuously over a period of time, this work primarily proposes a new …

Creating An Experimental Learning And Research Driven Spacesuit Lab For Erau, Ryan L. Kobrick, Erik Seedhouse

Publications

This paper evaluates key functional data parameters that must be considered for suborbital spaceflight participants wearing pressurized suits for intravehicular activity (IVA). Data parameters of an analog spacesuit worn in an analog flight environment were obtained from 40 civilian participants using the Suborbital Space Flight Simulator (SSFS) at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) while donning Final Frontier Design’s (FFD) fully pressurized third-generation spacesuit as part of their training for Project PoSSUM (the Polar Suborbital Science in the Upper Mesosphere Project). The physiological data collected included: blood pressure, electrocardiograms, heart rate, grip strength, and skin temperature. These parameters were measured using a …

Suitability Testing For Possum Scientist-Astronaut Candidates Using The Suborbital Space Flight Simulator With An Iva Spacesuit, Pedro J. Llanos, Victor Kitmanyen, Erik Seedhouse, Ryan L. Kobrick

Publications

This paper evaluates key functional data parameters that must be considered for suborbital spaceflight participants wearing pressurized suits for intravehicular activity (IVA). Data parameters of an analog spacesuit worn in an analog flight environment were obtained from 40 civilian participants using the Suborbital Space Flight Simulator (SSFS) at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) while donning Final Frontier Design’s (FFD) fully pressurized third-generation spacesuit as part of their training for Project PoSSUM (the Polar Suborbital Science in the Upper Mesosphere Project). The physiological data collected included: blood pressure, electrocardiograms, heart rate, grip strength, and skin temperature. These parameters were measured using a …

Mapping Of Iva Spacesuit Mobility: Design Observations And Functionality, Gavin C. James, Ryan L. Kobrick, Victor Kitmanyen

Publications

The SUIT Lab at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University is a joint student-faculty project utilizing multiple high altitude pressure garments to investigate suited crew capabilities within a spacecraft during simulated spaceflight missions. The testing environment within the SUIT lab includes the use of suits in a lowfidelity capsule cabin mockup with a horizontally situated launch-positioned chair simulator. Standard videography and analytical video software are used to determine levels of achievement in ergonomic range of motion and comfort design across multiple spacesuits. Comparative analysis and testing provide data supporting the requirement for the use of particular spacesuits inside proposed commercial launch vehicles. Results …

Six Degrees Of Freedom From Six Degrees Of Separation: The History Of Flight Simulators, David Keck, Morgan Lopez

Publications

Some of today's advanced flight simulators have the capacity to provide pilots with experiences of six degrees of freedom: forward/backward, up/down, or left/right (or pitching, rolling, or yawing in either direction). These incredible devices are the product of over 100 years of design developments that come from a series of technological discoveries and historical events.

Time Optimal State Feedback Control With Application To A Spacecraft With Cold Gas Propulsion, Samuel J. Kitchen-Mckinley, Sergey V. Drakunov

Publications

A cold gas propulsion system is well suited to provide the required thrust for a small surveyor spacecraft operated near an asteroid or planetary surface. The cold gas propellant can obtained in-situ from local surface or atmospheric constituents. For small spacecraft, the cold gas system may be limited to only on-off control of the main tank where the generated thrust is directly dependent on the tank pressure. As such the thrust will slowly decrease as the propellant is expended. A state feedback, time optimal, control law is developed for a vehicle with propellant is expended. A state feedback, time optimal, …

Static Testing Of Propulsion Elements For Small Multirotor Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, Robert W. Deters, S.C. Kleinke, Michael S. Selig

Publications

The growing use of small multirotor aircraft has increased the interest in having better performance results especially with the propulsion system. The size of the propellers used on these aircraft operate at low Reynolds numbers that are typically less than 200,000. Static performance testing of ten propeller pairs (tractor and pusher) were completed and is the beginning of a systematic test of propellers used on multirotor systems. The propellers chosen for this initial set of tests were selected from four popular quadrotors. Besides testing the propellers provided with the aircraft, propellers that are sold as replacements from third-party companies were …

Pilot Training Metrics At A Part 141 University Training Program, Steven Hampton, Dothag Truong, Ken Byrnes, Troy Techau

Publications

The study evaluates training at a collegiate flight training program providing metrics for time and costs from zero time to a Private Pilot. Training times for flights and activities are pulled from a sophisticated database used at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) and matched with flight and ground school lessons and then further subdivided to determine the amount of time spent training in areas of operation that are prescribed by the Federal Aviation Administration in the published Practical Test Standards and Airman Certification Standards for those seeking pilot licenses and ratings. Provided are mean times and costs for a prospective pilot …

Further Cost Reduction Of Battery Manufacturing, Amir A. Asif, Rajendra Singh

Publications

The demand for batteries for energy storage is growing with the rapid increase in photovoltaics (PV) and wind energy installation as well as electric vehicle (EV), hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV). Electrochemical batteries have emerged as the preferred choice for most of the consumer product applications. Cost reduction of batteries will accelerate the growth in all of these sectors. Lithium-ion (Li-ion) and solid-state batteries are showing promise through their downward price and upward performance trends. We may achieve further performance improvement and cost reduction for Li-ion and solid-state batteries through reduction of the variation in …

Data‐Enabled Cognitive Modeling: Validating Student Engineers’ Fuzzy Design‐Based Decision‐Making In A Virtual Design Problem, Golnaz Arastoopour Irgens, Naomi C. Chesler, Jeffrey Linderoth, David Williamson Shaffer

Publications

The ability of future engineering professionals to solve complex real‐world problems depends on their design education and training. Because engineers engage with open‐ended problems in which there are unknown parameters and multiple competing objectives, they engage in fuzzy decision‐making, a method of making decisions that takes into account inherent imprecisions and uncertainties in the real world. In the design‐based decision‐making field, few studies have applied fuzzy decision‐making models to actual decision‐making process data. Thus, in this study, we use datasets on student decision‐making processes to validate approximate fuzzy models of student decision‐making, which we call data‐enabled cognitive modeling. The results …

Enhancing Anaerobic Digestion Of Food Waste Through Biochemical Methane Potential 1 Assays At Different Substrate: Inoculum Ratios, Shakira R. Hobbs, Amy E. Landis, Bruce E. Rittmann, Michelle N. Young, Prathap Parameswaran

Publications

Food waste has a high energy potential that can be converted into useful energy in the form of methane via anaerobic digestion. Biochemical Methane Potential assays (BMPs) were conducted to quantify the impacts on methane production of different ratios of food waste. Anaerobic digester sludge (ADS) was used as the inoculum, and BMPs were performed at food waste:inoculum ratios of 0.42, 1.42, and 3.0 g chemical oxygen demand/g volatile solids (VS). The 1.42 ratio had the highest CH4-COD recovery: 90% of the initial total chemical oxygen demand (TCOD) was from food waste, followed by ratios 0.42 and 3.0 at 69% …

The Soil Moisture Velocity Equation, Fred L. Ogden, Myron B. Allen, Wencong Lai, Jianting Zhu, Mookwon Seo, Craig C. Douglas, Cary A. Talbot

Publications

Numerical solution of the one-dimensional Richards' equation is the recommended method for coupling groundwater to the atmosphere through the vadose zone in hyperresolution Earth system models, but requires fine spatial discretization, is computationally expensive, and may not converge due to mathematical degeneracy or when sharp wetting fronts occur. We transformed the one-dimensional Richards' equation into a new equation that describes the velocity of moisture content values in an unsaturated soil under the actions of capillarity and gravity. We call this new equation the Soil Moisture Velocity Equation (SMVE). The SMVE consists of two terms: an advection-like term that accounts for …

Influence Of Activated Carbon Surface Oxygen Functionality On Elemental Mercury Adsorption From Aqueous Solution, Emily K. Faulconer, David W. Mazyck

Publications

Mercury (Hg), though naturally occurring, is a toxic element. Exposure to various forms of mercury can be harmful for humans and ecosystems. Mercury-contaminated wastewater can be treated using activated carbon to adsorb the mercury, allowing for safe discharge. Wet chemical oxidation of activated carbon was performed to enhanced surface oxygen functionality, with the objective of enhancing aqueous ionic (Hg(II)) and elemental (Hg(0)) mercury adsorption. Characterization of the modified carbons included nitrogen adsorption-desorption, elemental analysis, point of zero charge, and total acidity titration. The concentration and identity of the modifying reagent influenced the characteristics of the carbons, including the surface oxygen …

Cancer Cell Redirection Biomarker Discovery Using A Mutual Information Approach, Kimberly Roche, F. Alex Feltus, Jang Pyo Park, Marie-May Coissieux, Chenyan Chang, Vera B.S. Chan, Mohamed Bentires-Alj, Brian W. Booth

Publications

Introducing tumor-derived cells into normal mammary stem cell niches at a sufficiently high ratio of normal to tumorous cells causes those tumor cells to undergo a change to normal mammary phenotype and yield normal mammary progeny. This phenomenon has been termed cancer cell redirection. We have developed an in vitro model that mimics in vivo redirection of cancer cells by the normal mammary microenvironment. Using the RNA profiling data from this cellular model, we examined high-level characteristics of the normal, redirected, and tumor transcriptomes and found the global expression profiles clearly distinguish the three expression states. To identify potential redirection …

Current Understanding And Future Research Directions At The Onset Of The Next Century Of Sintering Science And Technology, Rajendra K. Bordia, Suk-Joong L. Kang, Eugene A. Olevsky

Publications

Sintering and accompanying microstructural evolution is inarguably the most important step in the processing of ceramics and hard metals. In this process, an ensemble of particles is converted into a coherent object of controlled density and microstructure at an elevated temperature (but below the melting point) due to the thermodynamic tendency of the particle system to decrease its total surface and interfacial energy. Building on a long development history as a major technological process, sintering remains among the most viable methods of fabricating novel ceramics, including high surface area structures, nanopowder-based systems, and tailored structural and functional materials. Developing new …

Assessing The Importance Of The Root Mean Square (Rms) Value Of Different Waveforms To Determine The Strength Of A Dielectrophoresis Trapping Force, Jordan Gilmore, Monsur Islam, Josie Duncan, Rucha Nato, Rodrigo Martinez-Duarte

Publications

No abstract provided.

Assessing The Importance Of The Root Mean Square (Rms) Value Of Different Waveforms To Determine The Strength Of A Dielectrophoresis Trapping Force, Jordon Gilmore, Monsur Islam, Josie Duncan, Rucha Natu, Rodrigo Martinez-Duarte

Publications

No abstract provided.

Do Single-Use Medical Devices Containing Biopolymers Reduce The Environmental Impacts Of Surgical Procedures Compared With Their Plastic Equivalents?, Scott R. Unger, Troy A. Hottle, Shakira R. Hobbs, Cassandra L. Thiel, Nicole Campion, Melissa M. Bilec, Amy E. Landis

Publications

Background: While petroleum-based plastics are extensively used in health care, recent developments in biopolymer manufacturing have created new opportunities for increased integration of biopolymers into medical products, devices and services. This study compared the environmental impacts of single-use disposable devices with increased biopolymer content versus typically manufactured devices in hysterectomy.

Methods: A comparative life cycle assessment of single-use disposable medical products containing plastic(s) versus the same single-use medical devices with biopolymers substituted for plastic(s) at Magee-Women’s Hospital (Magee) in Pittsburgh, PA and the products used in four types of hysterectomies that contained plastics potentially suitable for biopolymer substitution. Magee is …

A Spreadsheet For Estimating Soil Water Characteristic Curves (Swcc), Ghada Ellithy

Publications

SWCC can be measured in the lab; however, due to the cost, time, and high variability in the results, empirical equations were developed using multiple regression approaches on databases consisting of a large number of measured SWCCs. The spreadsheet presented herein utilizes different methods that use basic soil properties, such as grain size distribution and Atterberg limits, to calculate the input parameters for van Genuchten and Fredlund and Xing equations. These parameters are required by numerical models, such as SEEP/W, to perform transient seepage analysis. The spreadsheet allows copying the generated curve data points as well as an input into …

System And Method For Robust Nonlinear Regulation Control Of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Synthetic Jet Actuators, Vladimir Golubev, William Mackunis

Publications

An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is provided with a plurality of synthetic jet actuators and a nonlinear robust controller. The controller compensates for uncertainty in a mathematic model that describes the function of the synthetic jet actuators. Compensation is provided by the use of constant feedforward best guess estimates that eliminate the need for more highly computationally burdensome approaches such as the use of time-varying adaptive parameter estimation algorithms.