Engineering Commons^™

A Human-Embodied Drone For Dexterous Aerial Manipulation, Dongbin Kim

INSPIRE-UTC Annual Meetings

Current drones passively surveil. Drones equipped with robotic arms shift this paradigm: the drone is actively interacting with the environment rather than simply sensing it. This would be needed to robotically enhance bridge-related work, called dexterous aerial manipulation: drones could hose decks; drilling on surfaces; and epoxy cracks. Such research is important to advancing bridge maintenance and repair.

Recently, the worker’s experience was integrated in aerial manipulation using haptic technology. The net effect is such system could enable the worker to leverage drones to collaborative perform haptic assessments of the objects and complete tasks on the bridge remotely. However, the …

Probability Of Detection In Corrosion Monitoring With Fe-C Coated Lpfg Sensors, Ying Zhuo

INSPIRE-UTC Annual Meetings

This project aims to develop two statistical methods for determining the probability of detection in corrosion monitoring using long period fiber gratings (LPFG) sensors with thin Fe-C coating, validate these methods from independent laboratory tests, and determine the steel mass loss at 90% probability of detection and the largest steel mass loss that may miss from a corrosion inspection at 95% upper confidence bounds. LPFG sensors could reflect the corrosion process by the wavelength shift in the transmission spectrum due to the change of the refractive index of the Fe-C coating. POD is a method used to determine the capability …

Smart Sounding System For Autonomous Evaluation Of Concrete Structures, Deepak Kumar

INSPIRE-UTC Annual Meetings

Impact sounding has been used successfully to detect defects in concrete structures. Recent research has shown that the sounding, such as chirp signal, can be generated by electronic speakers, and can be designed with controlled frequency characteristics to excite defects in concrete decks. The bottom of a deck cannot be conventionally sounded, and precise location of the damaged area is a challenge. The focus of this research is on development of a “Smart Sounding System” that can be used to inspect the underdeck and pier surfaces effectively and autonomously.

Inspire Utc Bridge Inspection Field Campaign Update, 2021, Pu Jiao

INSPIRE-UTC Annual Meetings

Bridge inspection activities using robotic sensing system are surging in the recent years due to the increasing demand of infrastructure maintenance and development of commercial drones and open-source robotic platforms. On the other hand, the data acquired through bridge inspection is also booming, which stimulated the application of machine learning in infrastructure.

At INSPIRE UTC of Missouri University of Science and Technology, bridge inspection equipment’s are being developed and tested for comprehensive data collection using multiple sensing technologies. This paper presents and evaluates the drone-carried sensors’ abilities and applications after 3 bridge inspections in Missouri in 2021 and sketches the …

Multi-Directional Bicycle Robot For Steel Bridge Inspection, Son Thanh Nguyen

INSPIRE-UTC Annual Meetings

In contrast to the current climbing robots, this research presents a new design and implementation of a roller chain-based climbing robot to provide a practical solution for steel structure inspection (bridges, poles, pipes, etc.)

The proposed roller chain-like robot has 12 joints for moving and 3 pairs of joints for turning, which makes the robot very flexible. This setup allows the robot to traverse areas of complex geometry on steel bridges. The robot utilizes permanent magnets to be able to well adhere on steel structures while moving.

Inspire Utc Bridge Inspection Field Campaign Update, 2021, Pu Jiao

INSPIRE-UTC Annual Meetings

Bridge inspection activities using robotic sensing system are surging in the recent years due to the increasing demand of infrastructure maintenance and development of commercial drones and open-source robotic platforms. On the other hand, the data acquired through bridge inspection is also booming, which stimulated the application of machine learning in infrastructure.

At INSPIRE UTC of Missouri University of Science and Technology, bridge inspection equipment’s are being developed and tested for comprehensive data collection using multiple sensing technologies. This paper presents and evaluates the drone-carried sensors’ abilities and applications after 3 bridge inspections in Missouri in 2021 and sketches the …

2021 Technical Program, Inspire - University Transportation Center

INSPIRE-UTC Annual Meetings

INSPIRE University Transportation Center 2020 Annual Meeting
August 10-11, 2021

Experimental And Numerical Analysis Of The Hydraulic Jump Stilling Basin And The Downstream Scour Depth, L. J. Miranda, R. Sánchez

International Junior Researcher and Engineer Workshop on Hydraulic Structures

This paper presents a study of a tridimensional low-head hydraulic jump stilling basin by using both physical and numerical models. Laboratory tests up to 15 hours in duration were carried out in a 1.9 m wide and 14 m long flume. Four gates produced a jet with a submerged hydraulic jump in a positive-step stilling basin, after which scour developed in a nearly uniform sand bed. Acoustic Doppler Velocimeter, piezometers and image processing were used to collect the hydrodynamic data, and Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes simulations developed in OpenFOAM were tested for validation purposes. Then, the study focused on (1) the …

Three-Dimensional Characterization Of Laboratory Scour Holes Around Bridge Piers, Ana Margarida Bento, Teresa Viseu, João Pedro Pêgo, Lúcia Couto

International Junior Researcher and Engineer Workshop on Hydraulic Structures

The presence of a bridge foundation leads to the formation of a scour hole, from which entrainment and transport of sediments are controlled by the turbulent structures therein developed. Hence, once formed, these scour holes interfere significantly with the scouring process in several ways, for instance, by modifying the incoming flow patterns. Therefore, a three-dimensional survey of the scour hole and the characterization of the deposition features is essential for prevention and safety control purposes. To investigate this, scouring experiments around two oblong bridge piers were performed in a tilting flume of the Portuguese National Laboratory of Civil Engineering (LNEC), …

Scour Downstream Of Log-Frame Structures In The Presence Of Rigid Vegetation, Deep Roy, Simone Pagliara

International Junior Researcher and Engineer Workshop on Hydraulic Structures

Recently, various low-head environment friendly structures have been used to control the sediment transport and preserve river navigability. Among these structures, double winged log-frames are effective for concentrating the flow by decreasing channel width. Moreover, they create scour holes which can be used by fishes as resting spots. Usually, log-frames are placed in mountainous curved channels where there is natural growth of various types of in-stream vegetation in the downstream stilling basin of the structure which influences scour geometry and depth. Therefore, the current study aims to analyze the impact of rigid woody vegetation, placed downstream of double winged log-frames, …

Estimation Of The Efficiency Of Hydraulic Pumps, A. Martin-Candilejo, D. Santillán, L. Garrote

International Junior Researcher and Engineer Workshop on Hydraulic Structures

A sustainable design of water supply systems needs to account operational costs. When pumping is required, the energy consumed by the pumps plays a major part in the operational costs, and the efficiency of the pumps can greatly affect the energy expenses. How to properly estimate the value of pump efficiency is hence of great importance. The aim of this study is to study in depth the efficiency of hydraulic pumps, in relation with the other design variables (flow rate, pumping head, power, etc.). For that, 400 hydraulic pumps were analysed. A strong relationship between the flow rate and the …

Streamflow Duration Curves: Focus On Low Flows, E. Carcano, M. Betasolo

International Junior Researcher and Engineer Workshop on Hydraulic Structures

Flow duration curves (FDCs) express the link between a selected streamflow and the percentage in time such value is exceeded. The curves provide a graphical insight into hydrological regimes, though, the absence of time-series data is a significant shortcoming. Conversely to what happens with hygrograms, flows in FDCs are represented without regard of sequence of occurrence. This paper explores FDCs of 19 catchments for which, at least, 10 years of daily discharges are available. FDCs can be built for any temporal scale (i.e. daily, weekly, monthly). In this study daily discharges have been adopted because daily scale better represents the …

Flow Distribution In Slotted Pipe Bottom Outlets, Felipe Azevedo Paulo, Eder Daniel Teixeira

International Junior Researcher and Engineer Workshop on Hydraulic Structures

Reservoir sedimentation is a major threat to dam operation. It can reduce water storage capacity, clog water intakes, and damage turbine components. Flushing operations by bottom outlets are a mitigation measure that allows removing sediment deposited near the dam. Unfortunately, the effect of such structures is localized if no water level draw down takes place; therefore, investigations of new designs that improve sediment removal have emerged recently. In this work, we present our current results on the investigation of the slotted pipe bottom outlet obtained through numerical modeling. The flow patterns were characterized for different water levels, showing that discharges …

Calibration Of A Hydraulic Model For Seasonal Flooding In A Lowland River With Natural Diversions And Bathymetric Uncertainty, For Dam Downstream Impact Assessment, Getachew E. Mamo, Davide Motta, Martin Crapper

International Junior Researcher and Engineer Workshop on Hydraulic Structures

A method is developed to generate bank-full river main channel geometry, to complement an open-source Digital Elevation Model (DEM) and produce a calibrated hydraulic model reproducing the extent of historically observed overbank flooding. This approach relies on limited surveyed cross section and flow rate information and is potentially suitable for projects in developing countries where the availability of measured data is limited. The method presented is applied to the case of the seasonal flooding of the Baro River in the Gambela floodplain in Ethiopia, modelled with a two-dimensional hydraulic model. The simulated flooding extent for the 1990 wet season is …

Particle Image Velocimetry (Piv) Investigation Of Local Scour Around Emergent And Submerged Circular Cylinders, P. Williams, R. Balachandar, V. Roussinova, R. Barron

International Junior Researcher and Engineer Workshop on Hydraulic Structures

Analysis of the velocity field surrounding a circular cylinder under equilibrium of local scour has been restricted due to practical limitations of commonly used measurement techniques. This investigation summarizes select cases in the literature which have attempted to circumvent such limitations and presents flow field measurements using Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV). Scour tests were conducted in a horizontal flume fitted with a sediment recess containing erodible bed material. Tests were conducted with both emergent and submerged circular cylinders for a period of 24 hours, after which equilibrium was achieved and planar PIV measurements were obtained in the streamwise-vertical symmetry plane. …

Comparison Of Pressure Distribution In 2d And 3d Jet-Driven Scour Processes, Simone Pagliara, Deep Roy

International Junior Researcher and Engineer Workshop on Hydraulic Structures

Water jets impacting on a non-cohesive granular bed cause a dynamic pressure distribution on the surface of the scour hole. Such distribution greatly differs from the hydrostatic one, especially in proximity of the impact zone, where the kinetic energy of the jet is dissipates due to the shear stresses acting on the scour surface. Here, the excess of shear stress causes the erosion of the bed material and can lead to the failure of hydraulic structures. Therefore, a detailed analysis of the forces acting on the scour surface is fundamental to understand the erosion mechanisms. Experimental tests were conducted under …

Modelling Velocity Profiles Of Aerated Flows Down Grassed Spillways, H. Cui, S. Felder, M. Kramer

International Junior Researcher and Engineer Workshop on Hydraulic Structures

The ecological and environmental benefits of grassed spillways present a green solution to the construction of low head conveyance structures. On a grassed spillway, the aggregate of the grass canopy and root structure may alter flow resistance, velocity distribution and other flow properties. While subcritical flows in vegetated open channels have been extensively researched, only little is known about flow properties in supercritical high-velocity flows, which are typically characterized by self-aeration. The current study explores the application of a velocity superposition to supercritical aerated flows on a spillway with artificial grass. Velocity measurements were conducted with a Pitot tube and …

A Critical Analysis Of Jet-Induced Scour Formulas, J. Di Nardi, M. Palermo, S. Pagliara

International Junior Researcher and Engineer Workshop on Hydraulic Structures

Many studies investigate erosive processes occurring in non-cohesive granular materials downstream of grade-control structures, dam spillways, headcuts, and other hydraulic structures. Because of the complexity of the scour mechanism, the analysis of the scour phenomenon caused by plunging jets is generally conducted by using physical models and particularly for specific structure geometries. In this regard, many researchers proposed empirical approaches to estimate the main scour lengths, but their contributions are limited to tested conditions and cannot be generalized. This lack of generality has been (partially) overcome by other, more recent, approaches, that are either semitheoretical or fully theoretical. Previous works …

Numerical Simulation Of Fish Passage Over A Weir, Linus Kaminski, C. Thorenz, R. Weichert

International Junior Researcher and Engineer Workshop on Hydraulic Structures

Downstream migration over weir structures has been a mostly neglected element of ecological continuity in the last decades. The guidelines currently applied in Germany to prevent damage to fish do not sufficiently consider the conditions present at weirs. To improve knowledge of the risks of fish passage over a weir due to physical strike, pressure changes and shear stress, a numerical method using the three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics package OpenFOAM® was developed to simulate fish passage over a weir by tracking passively transported particles. In this study, the method is tested on an overshot and an undershot weir and the …

Effect Of Boundary-Layer Development On The Water-Surface Fluctuations Of Supercritical Flow Below A Sluice Gate, Ryugen Satoh, M. Takahashi, I. Ohtsu

International Junior Researcher and Engineer Workshop on Hydraulic Structures

Hydraulic structures with a sluice gate are commonly used for control of the flow. In supercritical flow below a sluice gate, an accurate estimation of the water depth and boundary layer thickness is important for the hydraulic design of a horizontal apron. The relation between water-surface fluctuations and boundary-layer development has not been clarified. The aim of this paper is to experimentally demonstrate the effect of boundary-layer development on water-surface fluctuations of supercritical flow below a sluice gate. It is shown that water surface begins to fluctuate slightly upstream of the critical point. The water-surface fluctuations and turbulence intensities downstream …

Cfd Simulation Of Supercritical Flow In Narrow Channels Including Sediment Bypass Tunnels, Subhojit Kadia, Elena Pummer, Nils RüTher

International Junior Researcher and Engineer Workshop on Hydraulic Structures

Secondary currents, turbulence characteristics and bed shear stress distribution are the crucial parameters for specifying sediment transport. Hence, to understand the sediment transport in sediment bypass tunnels (SBTs), we performed computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation of supercritical flow in a narrow straight channel. The results of the steady state simulation (Froude number ≈ 1.8) were compared with experimental results. The commonly used two-equations linear eddy-viscosity models are limited to isotropic turbulence closure and hence could not replicate the desired secondary currents. Therefore, the LRR Reynolds Stress Model was used, and predicted the flow features and the secondary currents (three kinds …

Probability Of Woody Debris Passage At Rock Weirs, Kathryn A. Margetts, B. M. Crookston

International Junior Researcher and Engineer Workshop on Hydraulic Structures

Often, large woody debris (LWD) at hydraulic structures is considered hazardous from a performance and public safety perspective. However, the sustainable management of rivers requires the consideration of ecological impacts of LWD such as cover for aquatics and the natural movement of LWD through a catchment. Therefore, this study explores the interaction of natural (nonuniform) LWD with rock weirs through field observations in the Blacksmith Fork River in Utah, USA and laboratory testing at the Utah Water Research Laboratory. The passage probability of individual LWD at rock weirs is observed and tested in an effort to describe the balance between …

Laboratory Experiments On Long Waves Interacting With Rigid Vertical Cylinders, R. Basile, F. De Serio, D. Raffaele

International Junior Researcher and Engineer Workshop on Hydraulic Structures

The impact of waves caused by storm surges or floods could lead to significant damage to marine and fluvial structures. Hydraulic forces add significant hydrodynamic loads on bridges built in coastal and fluvial environments; therefore, the effect of the wave impact on bridge substructures must be properly considered for the safe and cost-effective design of the piers. The use of laboratory-scale models is a direct approach to investigate the effects of long waves on simple structures, mimicking bridge piers. The present study describes a laboratory-scale model, where the propagation of two different long waves in a flume, in the presence …

Approach Flow Depth Influence On Nonlinear Weir Discharge Capacity, Benane Redha, Sebastien Erpicum, Michel Pirotton

International Junior Researcher and Engineer Workshop on Hydraulic Structures

The high hydraulic efficiency and the compactness of nonlinear weirs favor their use in several rehabilitation or new dams projects. Main types of nonlinear weirs are labyrinth and piano key weirs.The purpose of this paper is to provide indications on the influence of the approach flow depth on the discharge capacity of these nonlinear weirs. To do so, a series of experimental tests have been carried out in the laboratory of Engineering Hydraulics of the Liege University. A labyrinth and a piano key weir have been tested in channel configuration (upstream flow width equal to the weir width) considering various …

Discharge Capacity Of A Piano Key Weir With Curvilinear Keys, R. K. Mishra, Z. Ahmad

International Junior Researcher and Engineer Workshop on Hydraulic Structures

The Piano Key Weir (PKW) has emerged as a cost effective and viable solution for dam rehabilitation and new projects with high level of space constraints. The geometrical dimensions of PKW are main factors affecting their discharging capacity. Since, it is a relatively new type of weir that has only been developed in recent years, the description of the effect of its geometrical parameters is still immature. The geometric designs of these weirs presented in the literatures incorporate only linear floor slope of the keys. For better understanding of the influence of curvilinear shapes of outlet key slopes on discharge …

Development Of A 1 Kw Gravitational Water Vortex Hydropower Plant Prototype, A. Sapkota, A. Gautam, A. B. Timilsina, S. Dhakal, S. R. Shakya, T. R. Bajracharya

International Junior Researcher and Engineer Workshop on Hydraulic Structures

A pilot testing of a Gravitational Water Vortex Hydropower Plant (GWVHP) has been done to evaluate the applicability in a real-world scenario and validate the results from the lab-scale model. A scaled-up model of a capacity of 1 kW was constructed for the evaluation purpose. The test provided data in good agreement with a lab-scale model and a proper visualization to install Gravitational Water Vortex in real-world scenarios. The project lasted for nearly four months and thus provided important information on the problems that might arise in scaling up the lab model to a micro-hydro system. The pilot testing shows …

Agile And Lean Six Sigma Integration: A Leadership Framework, Alessandro Laureani

International Conference on Lean Six Sigma

Submitting final version of the paper attached.

Agile and Lean Six Sigma integration: a Leadership framework

Author: Alessandro Laureani, Independent Lean Six Sigma Scholar, Ireland

E-mail: [email protected] Phone: +353 87 914 4532

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to illustrate how Agile methodologies and Lean Six Sigma can coexist and propose a Leadership framework to successfully merge Agile methodologies with Lean Six Sigma practice.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper builds on the author’s doctoral thesis on Leadership for Lean Six Sigma, and integrate Agile practices based on the author’s experience in the software development industry.

Findings

Agile methodologies, that came to …

Lss Implementation In Micro Enterprises: Adoption Of Tools To Support Competitiveness, Seamus O'Reilly, Dermot Freeman, Lawrence Dooley

International Conference on Lean Six Sigma

LSS Implementation in Micro Enterprises:

Adoption of tools to support competitiveness

Seamus O’Reilly^a ([email protected]), Dermot Freeman^b ([email protected])

and Lawrence Dooley^a ([email protected])

^aCork University Business School, Ireland. ^bDermot Freeman & Associates, Ireland

Purpose

This study seeks to contribute to an emerging literature addressing Lean Six Sigma (LSS) implementation in the micro enterprise context. Specifically, it explores what LSS tools address business opportunities and challenges identified by micro enterprises.

Methodology

This study adopts a purposive sampling approach. Thirty micro enterprise who had availed of a lean start programme launched by a …

Replicating Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Education, Martinus J. Buijvoets, Bob Walrave, Jukka-Matti Turtiainen, Gregory H. Watson

International Conference on Lean Six Sigma

Purpose – This paper describes the intricates and possibilities of replicating a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt (LSSGB) education model from a pilot program to other universities—employing ‘replication as strategy’—based on a validated ‘business model.’

Study design/methodology/approach – This work is grounded in a case study on the ESTIEM LSSGB educational method and draws on the replication literature. Specifically: (1) replication as strategy (Winter and Szulanski, 2001) to replicate stimulating learning environments, and (2) replicating sets of teaching practices (Baden-Fuller and Winter, 2007). These theories are practiced using data obtained from various sources: Participant-observer data, interview data, and secondary case …

Six Sigma, Sustainability, And It Management: A Research Review And Discussion Of Future Directions, Manal Alduraibi, Timothy Winders, Chad Laux

International Conference on Lean Six Sigma

Abstract

Purpose- Six Sigma is based upon quality improvement by finding the root cause and refining processes to the precision of process outcomes. The purpose of this research was to conduct a systematic literature review (SLR) to explore the Six Sigma techniques and information technology (IT) management concepts to identify the IT management principle's impact on the sustainability of Six Sigma project efforts and identify the gaps that are essential to be addressed through further research. This research also discusses the principles of IT management upon the influence on Six Sigma projects, and subsequent contribution to organizational economic sustainability. An …