Engineering Commons^™

Artemia In Space, Holbrook Hawkes, Elizabeth Blackburn, Bonnie K. Baxter

Utah Space Grant Consortium

The panspermia hypothesis poses that life originated in space. To test this hypothesis, a model organism capable of withstanding the extreme conditions of space must be used. The brine shrimp genus Artemia represents species of extremophilic zooplankton with adaptations to survive extreme temperatures (-273˚°C to 90˚°C), hydrogen sulfide-reducing environments, HZE particles, oxidation, desiccation, ion exposure, electromagnetic radiation, and anoxia (Skoultchi and Morowitz, 1964; Clegg, 1978; van Stappen, 1996, 2002; Willsie and Clegg, 2001; Clegg and Trotman, 2002; MacRae, 2016). Artemia are so hardy in part due to their ability to produce oviparous encysted embryos instead of live nauplii that can …

Ecological Dynamics Of The Hypersaline Great Salt Lake North Arm, Amanda Lee, Alex Phillips, Bonnie Baxter, Amy Schmid

Utah Space Grant Consortium

Great Salt Lake (GSL) is home to a massive variety of microorganisms and these populations will aid in understanding the ecosystem. The Union Pacific’s railroad causeway divided GSL into two distinct sections, the green South Arm and pink North Arm, and each have nurtured two accordingly distinctive ecosystems. Breaches periodically opened in the causeway allow the waters to mix and provide opportunity for the microbial communities of the two arms to intermingle. This project focuses on procuring a picture of the North Arm’s microbial diversity and the extent that it adapts to new environments over the four seasons, as well …

White Light Observations Of The Total Solar Eclipse, Maxwell Lynch, Julia Kamenetzky

Utah Space Grant Consortium

This year, we have had the opportunity to see two total solar eclipses. I helped create training materials for volunteer scientists who took photographs of these eclipses. Our group worked with the Dynamic Eclipse Broadcast Initiative, which has organized groups for this project across North America. My role was to work with the DEB team to write instructions for our systems, and then to observe both eclipses.

Byu University Rover Challenge, Ethan Smith, Ben Broce, Phineas Jensen, Aaron Thomas, Jackson Harwood, Caleb Betteridge, Grant Thompson, Ben Duncan, Spencer Stowell, Spencer Mosley, John Carmen, Trevor Reay, Cameron Stoker, Luke Zollinger, Carson Moon, Ian Reid, Ross Beeson, Mihai Stanciu, Ben Wright, Jacob Moore, Joey Mcconkie, Noah Peterson, Brandon Sutherland, Joseph Heal, Marc Killpack

Utah Space Grant Consortium

THE CHALLENGE Our objective is to produce a robust and well-defined rover which will score greater than the 90th percentile in each of the University Rover Challenge (URC) missions. These missions are as follows: Extreme Delivery Find, lift, carry and deliver objects up to 5kg in mass to predetermined GPS coordinates and maneuver precisely through difficult terrain. Equipment Servicing Accurately manipulate controls on a mock lander, simulating a human's dexterity and speed. Science Detect life in a desert environment, recording the temperature, moisture, and GPS coordinates at the sample site. Autonomy Navigate to multiple GPS waypoints, detect objects with AI, …

Byu Rocketry: 2023 Irec & Spaceport America Cup, Derrick Walker, Riley Brown, Will Hart, Anya Jeppson, Aidan Rice, Nathan Butler, Bradley Hornfischer, Blake Jensen, Alexander Potter, Joshua Taylor, Dallan Trentman, David Fullwood

Utah Space Grant Consortium

BYU Rocketry competed in the 2023 IREC competition at the Spaceport America Cup in the 10,000 ft commercial motor category. The 12 ft and 71 lb. rocket, Solitude beckons to BYU Rocketry’s past while honoring some of Utah’s most towering peaks.

Extracting Meanline Modeling Parameters For Radial Turbomachinery From Cfd, Jason Metten, Dallan Trentman

Utah Space Grant Consortium

This study uses Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) to explore how geometric changes to centrifugal compressors impact key Two-Zone modeling parameters. While centrifugal impellers are an important part of many systems, the flow through such impellers is inherently complicated making performance often difficult to predict. There are many approaches for modeling this complex flow environment, one method being the Two-Zone model developed by Dave Japikse. This model divides all flow through a centrifugal impeller into a primary zone which is isentropic, and a secondary zone which contains losses. To apply this method, a few key parameters are needed. These parameters are …

Precise Impulse Design For Hybrid Rockets Using Machine-Learning Informed Digital Throttle Input, Eric Larsen, Stephen Whitmore, Som Dutta

Utah Space Grant Consortium

Hybrid rocket motors are known to be safer and greener than solid motor rockets. Hybrid rockets provide additional benefits to mission design with the ability to shutdown, restart, and throttle reliably. Capabilities well suited to applications such as sounding rockets, orbital insertion of small satellites, and surface launch systems. The implementation of hybrid rockets does not come without its own complications. A significant uncertainty in hybrid rocket thrust output is the Oxidizer-to-Fuel ratio (O/F) producing variable thrust, also known as the O/F shift. The effect of O/F shift on thrust has the potential to limit the performance and reliability of …

Nitrification Rate Depends On Nitrogen Fertilizer Source In Root-Zones For Bioregenerative Life-Support, Noah J. Langenfeld, Bruce Bugbee

Utah Space Grant Consortium

Nitrification helps recycle nitrogen (N) in closed root-zones with multiple N inputs. We studied nitrification rates in peat moss soilless media adjusted to pH 6.5 to 7 and watered with nutrient solutions containing 9 mM N from ammonium nitrate, ammonium, nitrate, urea, or microbial biomass (lysed cells of the N-fixing bacteria Azotobacter vinelandii). We leached the media with nutrient solution every week for 150 days and measured the pH, electrical conductivity, and nitrate concentration. We measured ammonium in the peat moss at the end of the study using a potassium chloride extraction and quantified total N by combustion. Nitrification …

Estimating The Full Pressure Field Immediately Downstream From A Propeller Using Stereoscopic Piv, Nathan Welker, Daniel Maynes

Utah Space Grant Consortium

Despite their relative importance in aerodynamic and turbulent flow measurements, pressure data has long been limited to time-mean fields made using tedious and intrusive pitot probe arrays. However, velocity-based measurements, such as particle image velocimetry (PIV), can be combined with the governing flow equations to derive high resolution pressure fields in a non-intrusive way. Using phase-locking and a multi-plane stereo-PIV approach, the pressure fields in the wake of an isolated propeller were measured using this method. The results were compared to data obtained from a traditional pitot probe. It was found that the pressure profile from the PIV approach was …

Expedited Cellular Uptake Of Hydrophobic Antioxidants For Oxidative Stress Mitigation Via F127 Micelle Encapsulation, Kyle Jackson, Kade Robison, David Britt, Yu Huang

Utah Space Grant Consortium

Various hydrophobic antioxidants remain unexplored for the treatment of space radiation and oxidative stress due to their inability to enter the cell without a drug delivery vehicle. Here, we explore the Pluronic F127 drug delivery vehicle, known as a micelle, and examine cellular responses following antioxidant delivery and oxidative stress mitigation. We also investigate methods for producing antioxidant-loaded micelles and their potential suitability for astronauts, including the best ways they might be administered during space flight missions. This research paves the way for new antioxidants to be used to protect astronauts from diseases caused by space conditions such as radiation …

Earth Observation Satellite Data Reveals Correlations Between Temperature, Turbidity, And Chlorophyll-A In Utah Lake, Kaylee B. Tanner

Utah Space Grant Consortium

No abstract provided.

Demonstration Of Self-Deploying And Self-Stabilizing Behaviors In Origami-Inspired Arrays, Katie Varela, Lydia Beazer, Larry L. Howell, Nathan S. Usevitch, Spencer P. Magleby

Utah Space Grant Consortium

Although origami-inspired mechanisms are becoming more common in engineering, transitioning from a paper-based origami pattern to a deployable array requires many design decisions, including selecting a thickness accommodation technique, hinges/surrogate folds, deployment method, stability measures, damping process, etc. This work focuses on demonstrating deployment and stabilization techniques applied to Miura-Ori configurations, with the primary objective of achieving a self-deploying and self-stabilizing array that could be utilized as a reflectarray antenna or other deployable system for satellites. These arrays must be compact when stowed, yet deploy expansively, with minimal to no aid. Specifically, this work describes deployment techniques that can be …

Kirigami Pattern Development For Gossamer Reflectarray Antenna, Ivy Running, Carolina Wright, Robert J. Lang, Larry Howell, Spencer Magleby

Utah Space Grant Consortium

Gossamer arrays for satellites are large, thin deployable structures, and they are attractive for space applications because they can be folded and stowed compactly for transportation and be deployed to have large functional surface areas. Reflectarray (RF) antennas could potentially function well on gossamer structures because they can be mounted on thin membranes. However, the efficiency of RF antennas decreases with any deviations from a flat plane, including those induced by plastically deformed creases. The study of origami allows us to design stowage configurations that meet specific needs. In this case, origami patterns and principles are explored that enable a …

A Survey Of Model Fits To Brown Dwarf Spectra Through The L-T Sequence, Savanah Turner, Denise Stephens

Utah Space Grant Consortium

Theoretical atmosphere models based on known physics and chemistry can be used as tools to interpret and understand our observations of brown dwarfs. We have fit archival near-infrared spectra of over 300 brown dwarfs with atmosphere models from the Sonora and Phoenix groups. Using the parameters of the best-fit models as estimates for the physical properties of the brown dwarfs in our sample, we have performed a survey of how brown dwarf atmospheres evolve with spectral type and temperature. We present the fit results and observed trends. We use these fit results to note where current atmosphere models are able …

Quantitative Analysis Of Terrestrial Caldera Shape And Applications In Planetary Geomorphology, Camille Cowan, Jani Radebaugh

Utah Space Grant Consortium

Volcanism on rocky planets and moons can yield valuable insights into their composition, evolution, and heat regime. This study creates a model to determine characteristics of extraterrestrial volcanoes based on imagery, one of the most abundant resources for studying other planetary bodies. We found that of 56 measured calderas, 61% were correctly classified into compositional categories based on shape alone. These results indicate that this model can be applied to calderas on other planets and moons to help constrain characteristics of their volcanism.

Target Position And Velocity Estimation Using Doppler Information From Wifi Signals, James Hyland, Todd K. Moon

Utah Space Grant Consortium

RF signals reflected off of a moving target experience a Doppler shift determined by the speed of the target. This can be used for target tracking, which could be useful in a variety of settings, such as using a communication signal to track a satellite, or to determine the location of a person within the space station. Although these reflections are weak compared to the signal seen from a direct path, the Doppler components can still be extracted. By processing Doppler signals from multiple receivers, the position and velocity of a target moving in the vicinity of the system can …

The Role Of Monitoring The Partial Pressure Of Oxygen In Urine For Early Detection Of Acute Kidney Injury, Lars Lofgren, Kai Kück, Natalie Silverton

Utah Space Grant Consortium

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is defined as an abrupt decrease in renal function due to structural injury. AKI has a large effect on critical care patients due to a relatively high occurrence and association with poor outcomes. Currently, the diagnostic tools that we have, serum creatinine and urine output, are delayed indicators of the presence of injury and simply capture the drop in renal function. However, there is evidence that renal hypoxia plays a role in the development of most forms of AKI. Furthermore, there is a correlation between the partial pressure of oxygen in urine (PuO₂) and …

Reference Channel Optimization In Bistatic & Passive Radar, Matthew Finger

Utah Space Grant Consortium

The thesis will cover the first steps and attempts to create a small scale bistatic radar using a Pluto software defined radio.

Valorization Of Date Palm Waste For The Isolation, Characterization, And Surface Chemistry Modification Of Nanocellulose, Mohsin Raza

Thesis/ Dissertation Defenses

There are an estimated 42 million date palms in the United Arab Emirates and thousands of tons of date palm waste are produced annually. Date palm waste is a lignocellulosic material and can be used to extract cellulose, which is the most abundant and renewable biopolymer on earth. This dissertation focused on the thorough characterization and kinetic analysis of various date palm wastes to evaluate the percentage of α−cellulose by weight, lignocellulosic nature, and thermal stability, followed by the extraction and characterization of cellulose and nanocellulose (NC). NC is an emerging candidate to produce biodegradable and low-cost composites, bioplastics, insulation …

Enzymatic Production Of Cyclodextrin Using Cyclodextrin Glycosyltransferase Immobilized In Metal Organic Frameworks (Mofs), Babatunde Azeez Ogunbadejo

Thesis/ Dissertation Defenses

Cyclodextrins (CDs) and their derivatives have attracted significant attention in the pharmaceutical, food, and textile industries, which has led to an increased demand for their production. CDs are typically produced by the action of cyclodextrin glycosyltransferase (CGTase) on starch. Owing to the relatively high cost of enzymes, the economic feasibility of the entire process strongly depends on the effective retention and recycling of CGTase in the reaction system, while maintaining the enzyme’s activity and stability. Previous supports used for this purpose have numerous drawbacks, including enzyme leaching, activity loss and significant mass transfer limitations. The aim of this dissertation was …

Supporting Text And Data Analysis Across Campus From The Academic Library, Amy Kirchhoff, Hejin Shin Phd

Digital Initiatives Symposium

The ability to comprehend and communicate with text-based data is essential to future success in academics and employment, as evidenced in a recent survey from Bloomberg Research Services which shows that nearly 97% of survey respondents now use data analytics in their companies and 58% consider data and text mining a business analytics tool (https://www.sas.com/content/dam/SAS/bp_de/doc/studie/ba-st-the-current-state-of-business-analytics-2317022.pdf). This has fueled a substantial growth in text analysis research (involving the use of technology to analyze un- and semi-structured text data for valuable insights, trends, and patterns) across disciplines and a corresponding demand on academic libraries to support text analysis pedagogy and text analysis …

Evaluating The Impact Of Hybrid Ventilation Strategies On Reducing The Cooling Load And Achieving Thermal Comfort Of Buildings: Regarding Arid Climate Of Uae By, Sheikha Mohammed Al Niyadi

Thesis/ Dissertation Defenses

The hybrid ventilation system has demonstrated significant promise in controlling indoor thermal comfort, maintaining indoor air quality, and using the least amount of energy possible. It accomplishes this by combining natural and mechanical ventilation. When natural ventilation is not possible, this system seamlessly switches to mechanical ventilation to maintain the best possible indoor thermal comfort levels. However, implementing this method in extremely dry regions is challenging due to the high energy consumption associated with air conditioning and cooling consume during the summer. In these regions, air conditioning and cooling alone account for approximately 60% of the urban energy use. The …

Valorization Of The Polymeric Constituents In Plastic Wastes Through Thermo-Chemical Processes By Using Viable Metal Oxides Additives, Labeeb Ali

Thesis/ Dissertation Defenses

The rapid accumulation of different types of plastic waste necessitates the development of effective and economically viable waste management operations. Such a process should ideally not only mitigate associated environmental burdens but also recycle and recover value-added products. Through incineration or pyrolysis, thermal processing has emerged as a mainstream approach to waste management of the ever-increasing loads of different categorized plastic wastes. Throughout the work of the thesis, we have utilized a multitude of complementary techniques spanning material characterizations, catalysis, kinetic modelling, and density functional theory (DFT) to comprehend the complex chemistry that underpins catalytic chemical recycling of plastic wastes. …

Transforming Fermentation Residues From Date Fruit Pomace For The Synthesis Of Bioadsorbent Material In An Integrated Biorefinery Framework, Sabeera Haris

Thesis/ Dissertation Defenses

In the pursuit of enhanced waste management solutions, this comprehensive research delves into the untapped potential of date fruit pomace (DFP), an abundant byproduct from the date syrup industry that is currently underutilized, leading to environmental concerns. The study emphasizes the need for proper waste management and valorization strategies to mitigate the environmental impact of DFP and promote sustainability within the date processing industry. The initial phase involves characterizing DFP from Emirati varieties, highlighting its compositional and functional properties. The analysis reveals that DFP is rich in total dietary fiber (45.5%), residual sugars (35.3%), protein (10.6%), ash (4.1%), and fat …

Transformer Based Deep Learning Model For Sign Language Recognition, Ganzorig Batnasan

Thesis/ Dissertation Defenses

Sign language recognition research aims to develop systems and tools that can interpret and translate sign language into text or spoken language. During the past two decades, the challenges faced in this domain are multifaceted. This thesis on sign language recognition aims to address some challenges through various approaches. The foremost challenge addressed in this thesis is reduction in accuracy that uses transformer based deep learning architecture in addition to preprocessing steps that include augmentations and transformations. The augmentations and transformation helped increase the data size. Specifically, in-house signs were generated using different persons for initial results. The video frames …

Disturbance Observer-Based Control For Pmsg-Based Wind Turbine Considering Unbalanced Grid Conditions, Moayad Maher Alanani

Thesis/ Dissertation Defenses

A typical permanent magnet synchronous generator (PMSG)-based wind turbine system consists of an electrical generator, machine-side converter (MSC), grid-side converter (GSC), dc-link capacitor, and a passive filter such as L filter or LCL filter to connect the GSC to the host grid. When the wind turbine operates under unbalanced grid voltages, a negative sequence component is introduced to the system. This negative sequence voltage can pose challenges for classical controllers to ensure an efficient control of the PMSG-based wind turbine system. On one hand, when the control objective is to ensure injecting sinusoidal and balanced three-phase currents to the grid, …

Experimental Investigation Of Various Hydrogen Knock Limit Extension Strategies On A Hydrogen-Gasoline Dual Fuel Spark Ignition Engine, Sanad Puthan Purayil

Thesis/ Dissertation Defenses

Hydrogen is a clean and carbon free substitute with the ability to significantly cut down the harmful emissions while enhancing the energy efficiency of internal combustion engines (ICE) typically powered by conventional fossil fuels. Hydrogen is the most abundant element which can be easily obtained from sources like water and biomass. The wide flammability range and high laminar flame velocity outstands hydrogen from other fuels. However, hydrogen fueled engines are more prone to abnormal combustion like knock and backfire due to its low ignition energy and high adiabatic flame temperature. To avoid backfire, several well-developed approaches have been reported. Unlike …

Estimating Effects Of Tourism Using Multiple Data Sources: The Miranda Tool As Part Of A Spatial Decision Support System For Sustainable Destination Development, Tobias Heldt

GSTC Academic Symposium - In conjunction with the GSTC Global Conference

Planning for sustainable mobility and destination development in rural areas is increasingly important when tourism grows in numbers. A key to address the challenge of transformation and adaptation of local communities to mitigate adverse effects in seasonal peak hours like traffic congestion, power failure, waste management and sewage flooding, is to properly estimate the number of visitors to a destination.

The problem of estimating tourism numbers is a known challenge since, for example, guest nights statistics are in-complete and non-commercial lodging (sharing solutions) are increasing. Recently, the promising utilization of mobile phone data has emerged as a means to estimate …

A Design Science Approach To Investigating Decentralized Identity Technology, Janelle Krupicka

Cybersecurity Undergraduate Research Showcase

The internet needs secure forms of identity authentication to function properly, but identity authentication is not a core part of the internet’s architecture. Instead, approaches to identity verification vary, often using centralized stores of identity information that are targets of cyber attacks. Decentralized identity is a secure way to manage identity online that puts users’ identities in their own hands and that has the potential to become a core part of cybersecurity. However, decentralized identity technology is new and continually evolving, which makes implementing this technology in an organizational setting challenging. This paper suggests that, in the future, decentralized identity …

Arkansas Tech University Modular Robotics Training System, Andrew L. Hilsdon, Jacob L. Crawford, Luke C. Hartman, Samuel E. Allen, Anthony W. Knudson, Kyle B. Mcmillan

ATU Scholars Symposium

Arkansas Tech University Modular Robotic Training System (ATUM RTS) project aims to combine two existing systems: The Georgia Tech Robotarium and the Micromouse maze-solving competition. The goal of ATUM RTS is to incorporate the challenge and excitement of maze-solving robots with the cloud-based learning system of the Robotarium. We intend to develop an automatic maze table with future remote capabilities to further student learning and engagement. By being able to create custom mazes with ATUM RTS, students will have access to a resource that will allow them to practically apply what they are learning in the classroom. The ATUM RTS …