Engineering Commons^™

On Progress In Exploring Controlled Viscous Limit-Cycle Oscillations In Modified Glauert Airfoil, Ethan Deweese, Lap Nguyen, Erik Vataker, William Mackunis, Vladimir Golubev, Ron Efrati, Oksana Stalnov

Publications

The paper reports on the progress in the development of a novel robust, nonlinear flow control technology that employs an array of synthetic-jet actuators (SJAs) embedded in 2-DOF, elastically mounted, optimized Modified Glauert (MG) airfoil design in order to control limit cycle oscillations (LCO) at low subsonic flow regimes. The focus here is on the conceptual design of the wind energy harvesting system that employs, e.g., a piezoelectric device to extract energy from plunging LCO, with the closed-loop controller being capable to sustain the required LCO amplitudes over a wide range of wind speeds. The current high-fidelity studies first include …

Experimental Environmental Profiles And Sloshing Dynamics Aboard Zero-G Aircraft, Pedro J. Llanos, Sathya Gangadharan, Kevin Crosby

Publications

This study presents the results of a parabolic flight experiment to study the sloshing dynamics of the magneto-active propellant management device experiment. This device utilizes a magnetoactive membrane and magnets located external to the tank to effectively damp the liquid free surface motion. This research work establishes a benchmark with sloshing analytical formulation and sensor calibration methods that can be used to characterize future research parabolic flights while providing important environmental profiles measured during flight, such as accelerations, pitch angle, velocity, temperature, total volatile content, carbon dioxide, relative humidity, magnetic field, and radiation. Correlation between these flight variables and the …

Modelled Effectiveness Of Nbs In Reducing Disaster Risk: Evidence From The Operandum Project, Paul Bowyer, Silvia Maria Alfieri, Bidroha Basu, Emilie Cremin, Sisay Debele, Prashant Kumar, Veronika Lechner, Michael Loupis, Massimo Menenti, Slobodan Mickovski, Jan Pfeiffer, Francesco Pilla, Beatrice Pulvirenti, Paolo Ruggieri, Arunima Sarkar Basu, Christos Spyrou, Silvia Unguendoli, Thomas Zieher, Silviana Di Sabatino

Publications

The use of nature-based solutions (NbS) to address the risks posed by hydro-meteorological hazards have not yet become part of the mainstream policy response, and one of the main reasons cited for this, is the lack of evidence that they can effectively reduce disaster risk. This paper addresses this issue, by providing model-based evidence from five European case studies which demonstrate the effectiveness of five different NbS in reducing the magnitude of the hazard and thus risk, in present-day and possible future climates. In OAL-Austria, the hazard is a deep-seated landslide, and the NbS analysed is afforestation. Modelling results …

Plant And Soil Effects Of Alternative Sources Of Phosphorus Over Three Years Of Application, Anna Karpinska, Thomais Kakouli-Duarte, S M. Ashekuzzaman, John Byrne, Achim Schmalenberger, Patrick J. Forrestal

Publications

Plant growth and food security depend heavily on phosphorus (P). Recovering and recycling P from animal, municipal, and food waste streams can significantly reduce dependency on traditional mineral P. This is particularly pertinent in the EU regions with limited native P supplies. The agronomic performance of including P-based recycling-derived fertilisers (two struvite and two ashes) or cattle slurry was compared to a conventional mineral P fertilisation programme along with no P and no fertiliser controls over three years. A field-scale experiment was set up to evaluate the perennial ryegrass dry matter yield (DMY), P uptake, and soil test P effects. …

Enhancing Groundwater Quality Assessment In Coastal Area: A Hybrid Modeling Approach, Md Galal Uddin, M M. Shah Porun Rana, Mir Talas Mahammad Diganta, Apoorva Bamal, Abdul Majed Sajib, Mohamed Abioui, Molla Rahman Shaibur, S M. Ashekuzzaman, Mohammad Reza Nikoo, Azizur Rahman, Md Moniruzzaman, Agnieszka I. Olbert

Publications

Monitoring of groundwater (GW) resources in coastal areas is vital for human needs, agriculture, ecosystems, securing water supply, biodiversity, and environmental sustainability. Although the utilization of water quality index (WQI) models has proven effective in monitoring GW resources, it has faced substantial criticism due to its inconsistent outcomes, prompting the need for more reliable assessment methods. Therefore, this study addressed this concern by employing the data-driven root mean squared (RMS) models to evaluate groundwater quality (GWQ) in the coastal Bhola district near the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh. To enhance the reliability of the RMS-WQI model, the research incorporated …

Phosphorus Fertiliser Equivalent Value Of Dairy Processing Sludge-Derived Strubias Products Using Ryegrass (Lolium Perenne L.) And Spring Wheat (Triticum Aestivum), W Shi, Owen Fenton, S M. Ashekuzzaman, K Daly, J J. Leahy, N Khalaf, K Chojnacka, C Numviyimana, J Warchol, M G. Healy

Publications

Background

Struvite, biochar and ash products (collectively known as STRUBIAS) derived from different waste streams are used as fertilisers in agriculture. Raw dairy processing sludge (DPS) shows promise as bio-based fertilisers, but secondary STRUBIAS-derived products need further testing as fertilisers.

Aims

The objective of this study was to calculate the phosphorus mineral fertiliser equivalency (P-MFE) for some STRUBIAS products derived from DPS.

Methods

Ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) and wheat (Triticum aestivum) pot trials were used to determine the P-MFE using the apparent P recovery (APR) method for Fe-DPS and DPS-derived struvites (Struvite 1–4), hydrochars (HC1–3) and …

Environmental Friendly Applications Of Ground Tire Rubber (Gtr) In Producing Concrete, Zahid Hossain, Ashraf Elsayed, Abu Sayed Mohammad Akid

Publications

Millions of waste automobile tires are generated yearly, an ever-growing issue for solid waste management authorities in Arkansas. Using waste tires as fuel generates toxic gases or dumping them in landfills is not sustainable. Hence, it is crucial to minimize the issues of managing and disposing of waste tires and incorporate them into concrete as construction material. This study aimed to investigate the fresh, mechanical, and durability properties of concrete incorporating waste ground tire rubber (GTR) as a replacement for sand and micronized rubber powder (MRP) as a replacement for cement. A total of eight concrete mixtures were prepared using …

Climate Change Impacts On Asset Management Of Texas Concrete Bridges, Muhammad Ali, Jiannan Cai, Ao Du

Publications

This study investigates the interplay of climate-induced deterioration factors impacting concrete bridges in Texas, focusing on chloride and carbonation-induced corrosion. It integrates Fick’s second law to model chloride diffusion and employs empirical equations to predict corrosion initiation and severe crack damage. Sensitivity studies across representative Texas cities (Houston, Dallas, and Amarillo) shows varying deterioration risks due to climate change. Results highlight chloride-induced corrosion as more prominent, particularly affecting coastal bridges in Houston, while carbonation corrosion is negligible due to favorable concrete cover. Condition rating mapping simulations incorporating crack width effects, traffic impact, and maintenance interventions are calibrated against recorded National …

Impact Of Autonomous Vehicle (Av)-Based On-Demand Transportation Services On Traffic Crashes, Sharareh Kermanshachi, Sai Sneha Channamallu, Apurva Pamidimukkalla

Publications

This technical report investigates the burgeoning field of Autonomous Vehicles (AVs), a transformative technology set to redefine transportation by enhancing safety, efficiency, and reducing human error. Despite their potential, AVs introduce complex challenges and safety concerns, particularly in urban environments. This study focuses on California from 2014 to 2022, offering a comprehensive examination of AV collision patterns, safety dynamics, and performance compared to Conventional Vehicles (CVs). Therefore, the objectives of this study are to (1) analyze trends in AV crashes to identify recurring patterns or anomalies that may indicate underlying issues or areas for improvement, (2) utilize the latest data …

Reinforcing Network Resilience To Support Equitable Disaster Evacuation, Kate Kyung Hyun, Stephen Mattingly, Mehrdad Arabi, Md Ashraful Imran

Publications

The research report presents an extensive analysis of hurricane evacuation strategies, highlighting the critical role of transportation networks in emergency situations. It examines how variables such as hurricane severity and the geographic positioning of residential areas impact evacuation patterns, using real-time GPS data and the Rayleigh distribution to accurately model evacuation timing. The study is focused on assessing the transportation network's capacity to handle the surge in evacuation traffic, identifying the most critical links within the network that are vital for effective evacuation. Additionally, the report offers an in-depth look at the socio-economic implications of these evacuation strategies, particularly underscoring …

Investigating The Efficacy Of Natural And Nature-Based Features To Increase The Service Life Of Coastal Roadways, Navid Jafari, Mohammad O. Hassan

Publications

Wetlands serve as essential natural barriers, protecting coastal regions against the increasing threats from hurricane-induced storm surges, rising sea levels, and changing weather patterns. Understanding their structural resilience is crucial, particularly the shear strength of the wetland soil-root matrix, which contributes significantly to stability under extreme weather events. However, evaluating this shear strength is challenging due to the complex nature of root systems and the varying amounts of live biomass and necromass at different soil depths. This study utilized a Large-scale Direct Shear Apparatus (LDSA) to address this gap by assessing the shear strength of root biomass in a horizontal …

Characterization Of Regular Concrete And Low-Cost Engineered Cementitious Composites With Incorporation Of Cellulose Nanocrystals And Cost-Effective Ingredients, Hassan Noorvand, Marwa Hassan, Andrea Gavilanes

Publications

This study evaluated the effects of incorporating cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) into Engineered Cementitious Composites (ECC) and regular concrete materials, focusing on mechanical properties and the use of cost-effective ingredients. CNC, synthesized from rice husk, was characterized by a crystallinity index of 55%. Four concentrations of CNC were investigated: 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 wt.% of cement. Three types of mixtures were developed: M-0, without sugarcane bagasse ash (SCBA) as a sand replacement; M-50, with 50% SCBA as a sand replacement; and regular concrete. The M-0 and M-50 composites underwent compressive strength and uniaxial tensile strength (UTT) testing, with their morphology …

A New Generation Of Multi-Functional Asphalt Mixtures With Superhydrophobic And Luminescent Properties, Mostafa Elseifi, Md. T. A. Sarkar

Publications

Every year, the United States invests billions of dollars in maintaining its roads and enhancing road safety, especially during severe weather conditions. Challenges such as flooding, snow, ice formation, and low visibility significantly affect road infrastructure and safety. The aim of this study was to develop a novel approach to create a new generation of multifunctional asphalt surfaces with enhanced water repellency and luminescent properties. To achieve this objective, two types of asphalt emulsions (BC-1HT and CSS-1H), one type of superhydrophobic nanomaterial (PTFE), and one SMA mix design were evaluated through various laboratory tests. These tests included scanning electron microscopy …

Exploring Older Adults’ Mobility Challenges And Preferences Before And After Experiencing Covid-19 Pandemic, Hany Hassan, Bernard Boakye

Publications

The US Census Bureau reports that the number of seniors (65+ years old) in the US is predicted to increase from 16.5% in 2019 to 22% by 2050. However, seniors have reduced mobility as they age due to their declining health and the limited travel options available. Therefore, it is crucial to solve their transportation needs during pandemics like COVID-19 when they are most disadvantaged. This study involved an online national survey that collected 1507 responses from seniors in all the 50 US states to examine their travel behavior and challenges and their willingness to adopt Autonomous Vehicles before and …

Eco-Driving Of Connected And Autonomous Vehicles Approaching And Departing Signalized Intersections, Xiangyu Meng, Tonmoy Sarkar

Publications

Eco-driving is a driving strategy that focuses on reducing fuel consumption, carbon emissions, and improving passenger comfort through the implementation of safe and anticipatory driving strategies. One method to improve eco-driving in autonomous vehicles is the optimal control approach, which utilizes ‘Signal Phase and Time’ (SPaT) information to determine an energy-efficient trajectory for vehicles approaching and departing signalized intersections. Camera-based vision systems and deep learning techniques can be implemented to recognize the traffic signal head and its phase information, further enabling the vehicle to adapt its driving patterns for improved fuel efficiency and reduced emissions. This report reviews advancements in …

Fostering Trust In Artificial Intelligence In Commercial Aviation: An Exploratory Study, Leila Halawi, Mark Miller, Sam Holley

Publications

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a transformative force, compelling industries to adapt their operations, management systems, and workforce capabilities. The aviation sector finds itself at the forefront of this transformation, confronted with the imperative to navigate the complex dynamics of trust amidst AI's integration. Through a comprehensive survey involving 310 professionals from across the US commercial aviation sector, the research aims to shed light on the trust construct. The exploratory study provides critical insights for strategic AI adoption within the industry. A crosstabulation explored how employee trust in AI for decision-making differed across various demographic groups. In addition, a onesample T-test …

Neurosymbolic Customized And Compact Copilots, Kaushik Roy, Megha Chakraborty, Yuxin Zi, Manas Gaur, Amit Sheth

Publications

Large Language Models (LLMs) are credible with open-domain interactions such as question answering, summarization, and explanation generation [1]. LLM reasoning is based on parametrized knowledge, and as a consequence, the models often produce absurdities and inconsistencies in outputs (e.g., hallucinations and confirmation biases) [2]. In essence, they are fundamentally hard to control to prevent off-the-rails behaviors, are hard to fine-tune, customize for tailored needs, prompt effectively (due to the “tug-of-war” between external and parametric memory), and extremely resource-hungry due to the enormous size of their extensive parametric configurations [3,4]. Thus, significant challenges arise when these models are required to perform …

K-Perm: Personalized Response Generation Using Dynamic Knowledge Retrieval And Persona-Adaptive Queries, Kanak Raj, Kaushik Roy, Vamshi Bonagiri, Priyanshul Govil, Krishnaprasad Thirunarayan, Raxit Goswami, Manas Gaur

Publications

Personalizing conversational agents can enhance the quality of conversations and increase user engagement. However, they often lack external knowledge to tend to a user’s persona appropriately. This is particularly crucial for practical applications like mental health support, nutrition planning, culturally sensitive conversations, or reducing toxic behavior in conversational agents. To enhance the relevance and comprehensiveness of personalized responses, we propose using a two-step approach that involves (1) selectively integrating user personas and (2) contextualizing the response with supplementing information from a background knowledge source. We develop K-PERM (Knowledge-guided PErsonalization with Reward Modulation), a dynamic conversational agent that combines these elements. …

Tutorial: Knowledge-Infused Artificial Intelligence For Mental Healthcare, Kaushik Roy

Publications

Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems for mental healthcare (MHCare) have been ever-growing after realizing the importance of early interventions for patients with chronic mental health (MH) conditions. Social media (SocMedia) emerged as the go-to platform for supporting patients seeking MHCare. The creation of peer-support groups without social stigma has resulted in patients transitioning from clinical settings to SocMedia supported interactions for quick help. Researchers started exploring SocMedia content in search of cues that showcase correlation or causation between different MH conditions to design better interventional strategies. User-level Classification-based AI systems were designed to leverage diverse SocMedia data from various MH conditions, …

Personalized Bayesian Inference For Explainable Healthcare Management And Intervention, Utkarshani Jaimini, Krishnaprasad Thirunaravan, Maninder Kalra, Robin Dawson, Amit Sheth

Publications

Chronic healthcare conditions such as Asthma re- quires constant monitoring and managing of symptoms and their triggers for better quality of life. Each asthma patient reacts very differently to potential triggers. Hence, there is a need to develop a explainable personalized framework for each patient to capture susceptibility to asthma triggers. We developed a personalized knowledge-based probabilistic model to predict asthma exacerbation for different environmental factors utilizing patient generated health data from pediatric asthma patients. Further, the personalized model provides a metric, called Health Coefficient, to quantify the health of a patient for varying environmental factors. We demonstrate the predictive …

Causal Neuro-Symbolic Ai: A Synergy Between Causality And Neuro-Symbolic Methods, Utkarshani Jaimini, Cory Henson, Amit Sheth

Publications

Causal Neuro-Symbolic AI combines the benefits of causality with Neuro-Symbolic Artificial Intelligence (NeSyAI). More specifically, it (1) enriches NeSyAI systems with explicit representations of causality, (2) integrates causal knowledge with domain knowledge, and (3) enables the use of NeSyAI techniques for causal AI tasks. The explicit causal representation yields insights that predictive models may fail to analyze from observational data. It can also assist people in decision-making scenarios where discerning the cause of an outcome is necessary to choose among various interventions.

Ontolog Summit 2024 Talk Report: Healthcare Assistance Challenges-Driven Neurosymbolic Ai, Kaushik Roy

Publications

Although Artificial Intelligence technology has proven effective in providing healthcare assistance by analyzing health data, it still falls short in supporting decision-making. This deficiency largely stems from the predominance of opaque neural networks, particularly in mental health care AI applications, which raise concerns about their unpredictable and unverifiable nature. This skepticism hinders the transition from information support to decision support. This presentation will explore neurosymbolic approaches that combine neural networks with symbolic control and verification mechanisms. These approaches aim to unlock AI’s full potential by enhancing information analysis and decision-making support for healthcare assistance1.

A Comprehensive Survey On Rare Event Prediction, Chathurangi Shyalika Jayakody Kankanamalage, Ruwan Wickramarachchi, Amit Sheth

Publications

Rare event prediction involves identifying and forecasting events with a low probability using machine learning (ML) and data analysis. Due to the imbalanced data distributions, where the frequency of common events vastly outweighs that of rare events, it requires using specialized methods within each step of the ML pipeline, i.e., from data processing to algorithms to evaluation protocols. Predicting the occurrences of rare events is important for real-world applications, such as Industry 4.0, and is an active research area in statistics and ML. This paper comprehensively reviews the current approaches for rare event prediction along four dimensions: rare event data, …

Countermeasures To Improve Pedestrian Safety On Arterials, Nicholas Ferenchak

Publications

This work analyzed the pedestrian safety and overall traffic safety impacts – in terms of both motor vehicle speeds and crash outcomes – of several countermeasures applied to the Central Avenue arterial corridor in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Findings suggest that the infrastructure changes associated with a bus rapid transit (BRT) system improved traffic safety by reducing vehicle 85^th percentile speeds by 11.5% and reducing serious and fatal injuries by 60.0%. While pedestrian safety outcomes were more variable, pedestrians generally fared better on BRT segments than on control segments. The mechanism behind these improvements was traffic calming through the BRT’s …

Economic, Environmental, And Social Characteristics Of E-Scooters On Lsu Campus, Mostafa Elseifi, Md Afif Rahman Chowdhury

Publications

This study provides a comprehensive evaluation of e-scooter technology, with a focus on its environmental, economic, and social impacts, particularly within university settings at the Louisiana State University (LSU) campus. A life-cycle assessment (LCA) was conducted to assess the environmental sustainability of e-scooters, encompassing all stages from raw materials acquisition to end-of-life. The analysis determined that the total CO₂ emissions for an e-scooter over a five-year lifespan were approximately 389 kg, with significant reductions possible by improving the lifespan of e-scooters, integrating recycled materials, and utilizing renewable energy sources for charging batteries. The study also compared the environmental and …

Vehicle Classification Technologies For Toll Collection, Samir Ahmed

Publications

Toll facilities (roads, bridges, and tunnels) are intended for revenue generation to pay off the long-term debt issued to finance construction, capacity expansion, operations, and maintenance of these facilities. Tolls are one form of a broad concept known as road pricing. In addition to revenue generation, road pricing is used for other reasons including transportation demand management to reduce peak hour travel and the recurring traffic congestion on some corridors. The aim of this study is to provide the tolling industry with detailed analysis of the suitability of various non‐ pavement‐intrusive vehicle classification technologies (imaging using radar, Lidar, thermal profiling, …

Designing And Characterizing New Coating Materials To Increase The Corrosion Resistance Of Steel Reinforcement Embedded In Concrete, Homero Castaneda Lopez

Publications

To develop a sustainable and durable rebar on different elements of the RC as a corrosion control system in regions where corrosion is the leading risk for the infrastructure system. The outcome of this research leads to a comprehensive report that provides methods, testing results, peer review papers, conference proceedings, and guidance for the utilization of rebar for corrosion control actions in RC, capable of long-term performance in harsh corrosive environments (deicing cycle conditions). Workforce development will also take place through a series of outreach activities targeting the broader audience of corrosion, civil, and materials engineers, and potential industrial partners …

Evaluating The Moisture Susceptibility Of Asphalt Mixes In Oklahoma, Mohamed Elkashef, Samir Ahmed, Sina Mousavi Rad

Publications

Moisture-induced damage can be detrimental to asphalt pavements. The modified Lottman approach (AASHTO T 283) is used to evaluate the stripping susceptibility of mixtures in Oklahoma. There are concerns about the ability of the AASHTO 283 to predict moisture damage in the field. In this study, the AASHTO T 283, the moisture-induced stress tester (MiST), and the Hamburg wheel tracking (HWT) test are used to evaluate the moisture susceptibility of mixes prepared using different gradations, local aggregate sources, and binders sampled from different refineries in Oklahoma. The mixes were also tested for cracking and rutting using the indirect tensile asphalt …

Monitoring Of Transportation System Assets Using Synthetic Aperture Radar (Sar) Satellite Data, Anand Puppala, Nripojyoti Biswas, Amit Gajurel

Publications

This research harnessed both high and medium resolution Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data to delve into infrastructure health assessment. High resolution SAR analyses capable of identifying differences between asphalt and concrete pavement surfaces. Particularly, it was found that Normalized Radar Cross Section (NRCS) values can deftly distinguish pavement types and detect surface anomalies such as alligator cracks in asphalt ahead of conventional methods. On the other hand, Time-Series Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) insights, extracted from medium resolution SAR, established a direct linkage between environmental factors and ground deformations. Such findings were corroborated by optical images collected during May 2017 …

Stabilization Of Expansive Soil Using Geopolymers From Locally Available Resources, Anand Puppala, Miladin Radovic, Nripojyoti Biswas, Sopharith Chou, Oscar Huang

Publications

Traditional calcium-based stabilizers are generally used to stabilize native expansive soils that are often found throughout Region 6. Due to their high carbon footprint, many studies are being conducted to identify a suitable green alternative for stabilizing expansive soils. Geopolymer (GP) received a lot of attention in the past few decades owing to its similar properties to that of ordinary Portland cement (OPC) yet with a lower carbon footprint. Previous studies have shown that metakaolin-based GP is an effective stabilizer to stabilize expansive soils. This study investigated the feasibility of stabilizing native expansive soils with GP synthesized with locally sourced …