Engineering Commons^™

The New European Directive Epbd (Energy Performance Of Building Directive) And The Added Value Of The Photovoltaic System, Kliton Bylykbashi, Besar Veseli, Shqiprim Ahmeti, Vehbi Sofiu, Luca Rubini

UBT International Conference

With the "green houses" directive, the European Union intends to reduce harmful gasses emissions by 55% to 2030 compared to 1990 levels and achieve zero emissions by 2050, with the aim of redeveloping the European building stock and improving its efficiency energy.

The provision advanced by the European Commission has been included in the Fit for 55 reform package and has the objective of acting as a priority on the 15% of the most energy-intensive buildings (located in energy class G) for each Member State; in Italy there are approximately 1.8 million residential buildings, out of a total of 12 …

Indoor Air Quality Impacts Into Life Cycle Assessments Of Buildings And Building, Afrim Syla

UBT International Conference

Human exposure to indoor pollutant concentrations is receiving in-creasing interest in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). Products used during con-struction and operation of a building can contribute to Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) problems that affect occupants’ well-being. However, IAQ is conventionally not addressed in the life cycle assessments (LCAs) of buildings and building re-lated products even though IAQ leads to one of the areas of protection under LCA - human health impacts. In this study, we proposed an overall framework for integrating IAQ into LCA using the standard steps of LCA. The framework focused on IAQ and LCA modeling from two …

Advantages Of A Gas Insulated Substation (Gis), Armend Ymeri, Nexhmi Krasniqi, Gentian Kicaj, Diellza Morina

UBT International Conference

Electricity represents the main form of energy, necessitating its transmission through the grid's transmission lines to reach various distribution network nodes. In Kosovo, the transmission lines function at voltage levels of 110 kV, 220 kV, and 400 kV, whereas in Europe, certain transmission lines are equipped to handle higher voltage capacities. Furthermore, medium voltage distribution lines operating at 35 kV and 10 kV are dedicated to serving large-scale consumers, while the low voltage distribution system, up to 0.4 kV, is specifically designed to supply power to commercial and residential customers. To meet consumers' electricity consumption demands, appropriate voltage levels, as …

Exploring Current Trends, Innovations, And Advancements In Wind Energy, As Well As Its Potential And Future Prospect, Agron Bislimi, Rrezarta Hajrizi, Arbesa Nikaj

UBT International Conference

This research delves deep into the realm of wind energy, meticulously examining its ever-changing landscape characterized by current trends, groundbreaking innovations, and remarkable advancements. The study sheds light on the dynamic path wind energy has taken, from its historical roots to its present state, while also casting a forward-looking gaze at its potential and prospective future contributions.

The investigation encompasses a comprehensive analysis of the latest trends shaping the wind energy sector. It showcases how these trends reflect the evolving needs of our energy systems and the measures being taken to meet them. Additionally, the paper explores how technological innovations …

Historic Solar Thermal Development, Drita Qerimi, Ardita Jusaj

UBT International Conference

Renewable Energy Sources (RES) are the object of ever-increasing interest in their use in recent years. The main cause of this interest rise lies in the warning about the depletion of conventional energy sources on the planet: fuel, natural gas, coal and the end of uranium reserves. By contrast, RES-s can be considered inexhaustible sources of energy at the human scale, as they use natural energy flows from the sun. Another reason for developing renewable energy sources is the uneven distribution of conventional energy sources on the planet, along with their uneven consumption. And, maybe the important reason is the …

Smart Self - Learning Adaptive Modeling Buildings And Their Impact On Creation Of The Smart Cities In Kosovo, Challenges And Opportunities, Fuat Pallaska, Visar Hoxha

UBT International Conference

The scope of this study is to research or to find the tools for the modeling buildings and simulation on creating the models of smart houses and sustainability and their impact on the whole buildings systems and technologies for better and smarter living conditions for community. Increasing the Energy efficiency and improving the new capacity technologies for Building modeling systems and facilities should create the conditions for the Smart Cities tools and technology and this application in the practice, using the smart modeling systems such as (BIM - modeling) or others adaptive and self-learning buildings. Deepest analyzing Models used for …

The Impact Of Renewable Energy Sources And Their Impact On The Energy System, Rexhep Shaqiri, Vezir Rexhepi

UBT International Conference

The power system of Kosovo is a compact and integrated structure at the hierarchical level. It plays an important role in the process of transmission and distribution of energy to consumers. Based on this importance analysis is necessary in order to estimate the medium and long-term plans of the production of electricity and development of the power generation plants. With the implementation of Distributed Generation (DG) in the distribution power system, there are many issues that need to be addressed and analyzed, as the impacts can be significant on the operation and stability of the distribution system. When DG is …

The New Nzeb Homes Set By Europe And A Case Study: A Farmhouse With Zero Energy Consumption, Kliton Bylykbashi, Besar Veseli, Shqiprim Ahmeti, Vehbi Sofiu, Luca Rubini

UBT International Conference

With the new EPBD directive, the European Union has announced the way forward for the construction of new buildings and the renovation of old ones. Kosovo, although not part of the European Union, does not want to fail in the sensitive issues of energy efficiency. In this article, a ZEB model building will be presented, consisting of an excellent passive system (well-insulated walls and windows) combined with a heat pump hybrid, with radiant floor heating, integrated with a photovoltaic system and batteries. The building will also have an electric vehicle charging system, so the photovoltaic system will be overrated. The …

Digitizing Heritage: A Bim-Based Approach To Preserving The “Prishtina District Energy Facility's Chimney Stack”, F. H. Selmani, Driton Ibrahimi

UBT International Conference

In the realm of architectural conservation and the digital transformation of the construction industry, Building Information Modeling (BIM) plays a pivotal role in preserving historical landmarks. This paper delves into the practical application of BIM for the revitalization of architectural heritage, focusing on the renowned Chimney Stack at the Prishtina District Energy Facility in Kosovo. Through an in-depth case study, this research explores how BIM facilitates the digitization of existing structures, shedding light on its manifold benefits, challenges, and limitations. Utilizing archival data, qualitative analysis, and a systematic BIM-based digitization process, this study demonstrates how BIM enhances efficiency, safety, sustainability, …

Modeling And Estimation Of A Continuous Flexible Structure Using The Theory Of Functional Connections, Riccardo Bevilacqua

Math Department Colloquium Series

This talk presents a novel method for modeling and estimating the dynamics of a continuous structure based on a limited number of noisy measurements. The goal is reached using a Kalman filter in synergy with the recently developed mathematical framework known as the Theory of Functional Connections (TFC). The TFC allows to derive a functional expression capable of representing the entire space of the functions that satisfy a given set of linear and, in some cases, nonlinear constraints. The proposed approach exploits the possibilities offered by the TFC to derive an approximated dynamical model for the flexible system using the …

Prototype Design Of Securing Internet Of Things In Smart Homes, Stephen Mujeye

Cybersecurity Graduate Research Symposium

No abstract provided.

The Intersection Of Ai And Employment, Sachit Kamat

River Cities Industrial and Organizational Psychology Conference

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming every industry. This session will focus on the practical applications of AI within employment hiring and succession strategies, enabling organizations to automate processes, improve efficiency, and uncover data-driven insights for enhanced decision making. We will discuss advancements using AI in the recruitment process, including the use of machine learning algorithms to screen resumes and identify successful candidates. The talk will highlight the regulatory environment and the intersection of the IO and AI fields within this rapidly evolving landscape. Additionally, the presentation will explore where AI is being used to improve organizational retention and performance. …

Workshop On Data For Ai In Network Systems - Event Summary, Kuang-Ching Wang, Ron Hutchins, Anita Nikolich

Workshop on Data for AI in Network Systems

No abstract provided.

Data For Ai In Network Systems Workshop Report, Kuang-Ching Wang, Ron Hutchins, Anita Nikolich

Workshop on Data for AI in Network Systems

No abstract provided.

Studazon, Gage Stevens, Michelle Thoi, Umangkumar Patel, Gavin Minney

Harrisburg University Research Symposium: Highlighting Research, Innovation, & Creativity

Studazon is a book listing for students to list textbooks they no longer need. Studazon acts as an advertising site to help connect students who have textbooks with students who need those textbooks.

Investigation And Analysis Of Circular Economy Indicators In The Manufacturing Industry, Dina Aljamal

Thesis/ Dissertation Defenses

In the pursuit of sustainable development, the concept of the circular economy (CE) has emerged as a compelling and transformative alternative to the traditional linear economic model (i.e., take, make, use, dispose). The limitations of the linear economy in addressing contemporary global challenges have highlighted the urgency of adopting a more regenerative approach. Simply put, the circular economy aims to maximize the value extracted from available resources over their lifecycle, thereby ensuring the fulfillment of both current and future generations' needs. This thesis sheds light on a pivotal solution for effectively integrating circular economy principles into enterprises, thereby reinforcing sustainability. …

Development Of Guidance, Navigation, And Control Systems For Multi-Spacecraft Assembly In Proximity Operations, Mohammed Ayman Atallah

Thesis/ Dissertation Defenses

This thesis presents the development of Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GNC) algorithms for multispacecraft assembly in proximity operations. A 3-DOF mathematical model of spacecraft relative translational motion is derived using the Euler-Lagrange method. Additionally, a 6-DOF mathematical model of spacecraft relative translational and rotational motion is derived using the twistor method, with consideration for the kinematic coupling effect. A new Linear Time-Invariant (LTI) model is developed based on the twistor-based model, which is utilized in the design of the GNC systems. LTI Model Predictive Control (MPC) and Linear Time-Varying (LTV) MPC algorithms are employed to develop a Guidance and Control …

Streamlined Hpc Environments With Cvmfs And Cybergis-Compute, Alexander C. Michels, Mit Kotak, Anand Padmanabhan, Shaowen Wang

I-GUIDE Forum

High-Performance Computing (HPC) resources provide the potential for complex, large-scale modeling and analysis, fueling scientific progress over the last few decades, but these advances are not equally distributed across disciplines. Those in computational disciplines are often trained to have the necessary technical skills to utilize HPC (e.g. familiarity with the terminal), but many disciplines face technical hurdles when trying to apply HPC resources to their work. This unequal familiarity with HPC is increasingly a problem as cross-discipline teams work to tackle critical interdisciplinary issues like climate change and sustainability. CyberGIS-Compute is middle-ware designed to democratize to HPC services with the …

Towards Carbon-Aware Spatial Computing: Challenges And Opportunities, Bharat Jayaprakash, Matthew Eagon, Mingzhou Yang, William F. Northrop, Shashi Shekhar

I-GUIDE Forum

Carbon-aware spatial computing (CASC) is focused on reducing the carbon footprint of spatial computing itself and leveraging spatial computing techniques to minimize carbon emissions in other domains. The significance of CASC lies in its potential to mitigate anthropogenic climate change by offering numerous societal applications, such as carbon-aware supply chain development and carbon-aware site selection. CASC is challenging because of the spatiotemporal variability and the high dimensionality of carbon emissions data, involving spatial coordinates and timestamps. Related work, known as carbon-aware computing, mostly focuses on job scheduling of cloud computing, and there is a lack of surveys and review papers …

Fine Tuning Mobilenet Neural Networks For Oil Spill Detection, Caixia Wang, Andrew Coulson

I-GUIDE Forum

The monitoring of open water and early identification of oil spills in the Alaska Arctic has become increasingly critical due to the rise in oil and gas exploration and shipping activities, facilitated by the increasing number of ice-free days resulting from global warming. This escalating risk of oil spills is further compounded by potential accidents in offshore operations, illicit oil discharges, and knowledge gaps in Arctic coastlines, rapidly changing due to rising seas, permafrost melting, and coastal erosion. To address these pressing challenges, we propose a deep learning model based on MobileNet neural networks to detect oil spills in remotely …

I-Guide Climbers: A Model For Multidisciplinary Academic Labs For Early Career Development, Iman Haqiqi, Wei Hu, Ramya Kumaran, Pin-Ching Li, Nicholas Manning, Alex Michels, Ayman Nassar, Jinwoo Park, Jimeng Shi, Adam Tonks, Zhaonan Wang

I-GUIDE Forum

In this paper, we propose a new form of multidisciplinary academic collaboration that goes beyond the traditional modes of knowledge exchange. We argue that most research collaboration today is based on interactions between closely related disciplines, in which researchers share data, methods, and insights within a common framework or problem. However, such collaboration may not foster the development of the communication and management skills essential to a multi-disciplinary research career. Therefore, we suggest establishing a network of researchers from divergent, yet complementary, disciplines who are interested in improving these skills through regular interactions and feedback. The main goal of this …

Reducing Uncertainty In Sea-Level Rise Prediction: A Spatial-Variability-Aware Approach, Subhankar Ghosh, Shuai An, Arun Sharma, Jayant Gupta, Shashi Shekhar, Aneesh Subramanian

I-GUIDE Forum

Given multi-model ensemble climate projections, the goal is to accurately and reliably predict future sea-level rise while lowering the uncertainty. This problem is important because sea-level rise affects millions of people in coastal communities and beyond due to climate change's impacts on polar ice sheets and the ocean. This problem is challenging due to spatial variability and unknowns such as possible tipping points (e.g., collapse of Greenland or West Antarctic ice-shelf), climate feedback loops (e.g., clouds, permafrost thawing), future policy decisions, and human actions. Most existing climate modeling approaches use the same set of weights globally, during either regression or …

Engineering Of Functionalized Carbon Nano-Onions Embedded Bsa Nanocomposite Fibers For Stimuli-Responsive Drug Release, Ramiro Manuel Velasco Delgadillo, Narsimha Mamidi

Research Symposium

Background: Advanced drug delivery systems (DDSs) have received enormous attention in biomedical applications due to their pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic drug properties. For the present study, poly 4-hydroxyphenyl methacrylate (PHPMA)/CNOs (f-CNOs) inserted bovine serum albumin (BSA) nanofibers were prepared for stimuli-responsive release of Doxorubicin (DOX). Temperature and pH would be altered to study the release of DOX in acidic microenvironments.

Methods: PHPMA were coupled with COOH-CNOs via ester coupling via the sonochemical method to produce PHPMA-CNOs (f-CNOs). Then, f-CNOs/DOX embedded BSA nanofibers were prepared at room temperature using Forcespinning. UV spectra of DOX-loaded nanofibers were studied to investigate the …

Engineered Exosomes For The Multimodal Imaging Directed Photo-Immunotherapy Of Colorectal Cancer, Deepak S. Chauhan, Meena Jaggi, Subhash C. Chauhan, Murali M. Yallapu

Research Symposium

Background: Rio Grande Valley experience severe cancer health disparity. A novel therapeutic modality may serve as better therapeutic option. Nanohybrids endowed with multifunctionality, longer circulation time, large surface area have emerged as an active preference for cancer research. However, rising concern of nanomaterials toxicity and scalability issues has slowed their translation to clinics. Exosomes (Exo) are endogenous endocytic origin 40-100 nm vesicles found in various body fluids, which in comparison to synthetic nanoparticles, are biodegradable, highly biocompatible as well as immunocompatible in nature. Although bulk isolation of exosomes from human body fluids is still a problem and engineering of exosomes …

Biocidal Properties Of Hybrid Nanonanomaterial, Chandrasekaran Karthikeyan, Kokkarachedu Varaprasad

Research Symposium

Background: Cancer is one of the essential unpredictable diseases worldwide; simultaneously, complicated issues created are by the human health system. Especially, breast cancer is the most commonly occurring cancer in women and is increasing remarkably in developing countries. It is a leading cause of cancer death in women, and breast cancer incidence rates are growing globally. To diagnose and treat cancer cells, different methods such as Radiation Therapy, Surgery, and Chemotherapy. These methods are high risk, more side effects, and high costs. The advanced healthcare material was developed to overcome this problem, inexpensive tools, and diagnosis of less-toxic drugs with …

A 3d Printed Microneedle System For Transdermal Drug Delivery Of Anticancer Drugs, Md Jasim Uddin, Tanvir Ahmed, Dennis Douroumis

Research Symposium

Background: Transdermal delivery of drugs is an attractive alternative to the conventional route of administration as oral delivery. The hypodermic injections are painful and less patient compliance. Microneedles (MNs) are micron-sized, minimally invasive needles to deliver a wide range of molecules (e.g., small, DNA, vaccines etc.) to the upper portion of the dermis in a sustained and controlled manner, without causing any pain. The introduction of 3D printing technologies in the fabrication of MN will promote one-step manufacturing tools and scale-up for the delivery devices of anticancer drugs.

Methods: The 3D printed MN (3DMN) arrays were fabricated using Stereolithography (SLA), …

L(D)-Tyrosine-Mediated One-Step Chiral Graphene Production For Chirality-Dependent Sensing, Fnu Pranav, Ali Ashraf, Meena Jaggi, Subhash C. Chauhan, Murali M. Yallapu

Research Symposium

Background: Chirality has been the most iconic phenomenon that occurred in nature. The idea of mirror-image asymmetry associated with the biological entity is still unsolved The emergence of 2D layered nanomaterials which have already shown amazing properties and a wide range of applications, especially in the areas of sensing.Amino acids enantiomers have similar physical and chemical properties however their physiological responses get changed based on the enantiomers. For example, L from amino acids helps body in protein formation, and generation of biological signals etc. whereas the D-form may cause toxic effects. We have developed a novel and facile synthesis method …

Privacy-Preserving Federated Learning, Dumindu Samaraweera

Math Department Colloquium Series

AI's applicability across diverse fields is hindered by data sensitivity, privacy concerns, and limited training data availability. Federated Learning (FL) addresses this challenge by enabling collaborative machine learning while preserving data privacy. FL allows clients to engage in model training with their local data, avoiding centralized storage. However, even with FL, security threats persist, jeopardizing model integrity and client data privacy. In this presentation, we will explore our latest findings in this area of research, safeguarding sensitive data from attacks through techniques like secure multiparty computation, homomorphic encryption, and differential privacy within the FL framework, enhancing data protection, and expanding …

Dual-Site Photoplethysmography Sensing For Noninvasive Continuous-Time Blood Pressure Monitoring Using Artificial Neural Network, Anas Mohmmad Rabab’Ah

Thesis/ Dissertation Defenses

Millions of people worldwide struggle from high blood pressure, often known as hypertension, and it is a major health concern that can lead to serious cardiovascular diseases, including heart attacks and many other consequences. Blood pressure monitoring that is reliable and accurate is crucial to the detection and management of hypertension. Although invasive techniques, such arterial catheterization, are considered to be the most accurate means of evaluating blood pressure, they can be painful, time-consuming and carry a risk of complications.
This thesis presents the development of a real time non-invasive blood pressure monitoring system based on commercially available microcontroller unit …

Bridging The Gap Between Academic Research And Reduction To Practice: Manufacturing Scale-Up Of Polymeric Membranes For Water Treatment, David Lu, Isabel C. Escobar

Kentucky Water Resources Annual Symposium

No abstract provided.