Engineering Commons^™

16-11 Microsimulation Of The Impact Of Access Management Practices To Pedestrians, Deo Chimba, Kevin Soloka

Transportation Research Center Reports

The study applied microsimulation to analyze the impact of access management (AM) to the operational performances of vehicles and pedestrians. A conceptual model was developed in VISSIM and VISWALK to examine the effect of access and signals density on different median types to the travel speed, travel time, delay and stopping. Access density, signal density, and presence of median were simulated in a scenario base analysis. The model scenarios shifted through changing both access density and signal density with no median, raised median and TWLT lane to provide interactions of arterial corridors in Nashville. The effect of access density on …

16-02 Enhancing Non-Motorized Mobility Within Construction Zones, Upul Attanayake, Abul Fazal Mazumder, Wjdan Dhaif Sahi Sahi, Mathew Mueller, Dustin Black

Transportation Research Center Reports

Acquisition of lanes and sidewalks for construction activities increases congestion and delays and compromises safety. Further, work zones impair access to local businesses, bus stops, nearby facilities, etc., while hindering mobility of pedestrians, cyclists, and emergency responders. The emphasis on non-motorized mobility varies significantly when temporary traffic control management plans are developed for small cities. Due to lack of specific instructions given to contractors and the potential liability issues, contractors tend to completely close access to non-motorized traffic without providing alternate routes or detours. Instead of using a detour, pedestrians and cyclists tend to pass through the construction zone or …

61st Conference On Senior Engineering Design, College Of Engineering And Applied Sciences

Senior Engineering Design Conference

The 61st Conference on Senior Engineering Design Projects. The conference was held from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.,Tuesday, December 5, 2017 at the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences on the Parkview Campus of Western Michigan University. The College of Engineering and Applied Sciences sponsored the conference to showcase the work of its graduating seniors, who are required to complete a capstone project that puts into practice what they have learned. Many of the projects are sponsored by business and industry.

16-08 Does Location Matter? Performance Analysis Of The Affordable Housing Programs In Dallas-Fort Worth, Shima Hamidi, Somayeh Moazzeni, Jinat Jahan, Reza Sardari, David Weinreich

Transportation Research Center Reports

On June 2015, the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs lost a case in the U.S. Supreme Court due to their failure to provide equitable affordable housing under the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program. The U.S. Supreme Court decision has shaken the affordable housing definition by highlighting the importance of location in housing affordability. To best assist low-income families, what should ‘high-opportunity areas’ concretely provide? First and foremost is transportation affordability.

Transportation is more than a sheer convenience for Americans. Looking solely at housing costs is a misleading measure of affordability and a disservice to low-income families. …

Inspire E-News 11 2017, College Of Engineering And Applied Sciences

College of Engineering and Applied Sciences News

• 2017 Alumni Excellence Academy Award Recipients
• Students take top awards for best paper at transportation conference
• Nathan LaWarre: Change Agent on Campus

Inspire E-News 10 2017, College Of Engineering And Applied Sciences

College of Engineering and Applied Sciences News

• State-of-the-art manufacturing lab to address shortage of engineers, skilled trades
• Komorowski wins first ever Betty J. Georgeau scholarship
• Welcome new faculty
• $2 million grant for migrant students focuses on STEM education
• WMU's new president takes the helm

Power-Efficient And Highly Scalable Parallel Graph Sampling Using Fpgas, Usman Tariq, Umer Cheema, Fahad Saeed

Parallel Computing and Data Science Lab Technical Reports

Energy efficiency is a crucial problem in data centers where big data is generally represented by directed or undirected graphs. Analysis of this big data graph is challenging due to volume and velocity of the data as well as irregular memory access patterns. Graph sampling is one of the most effective ways to reduce the size of graph while maintaining crucial characteristics. In this paper we present design and implementation of an FPGA based graph sampling method which is both time- and energy-efficient. This is in contrast to existing parallel approaches which include memory-distributed clusters, multicore and GPUs. Our …

Scalable Data Structure To Compress Next-Generation Sequencing Files And Its Application To Compressive Genomics, Sandino Vargas-Perez, Fahad Saeed

Parallel Computing and Data Science Lab Technical Reports

It is now possible to compress and decompress large-scale Next-Generation Sequencing files taking advantage of high-performance computing techniques. To this end, we have recently introduced a scalable hybrid parallel algorithm, called phyNGSC, which allows fast compression as well as decompression of big FASTQ datasets using distributed and shared memory programming models via MPI and OpenMP. In this paper we present the design and implementation of a novel parallel data structure which lessens the dependency on decompression and facilitates the handling of DNA sequences in their compressed state using fine-grained decompression in a technique that is identified as in …

Inspire E-News 9 2017, College Of Engineering And Applied Sciences

College of Engineering and Applied Sciences News

• Win Tickets to WMU's Homecoming Game!
• College hosts paper coatings course for industry professionals
• Scholarship winner seeks adventure abroad

15-06 Integrated Crowdsourcing Platform To Investigate Non-Motorized Behavior And Risk Factors On Walking, Running, And Cycling Routes, Ala Al-Fuqaha, Sepideh Mohammadi, Jun-Seok Oh, Valerian Kwigizile, Fadi Alhomaidat

Transportation Research Center Reports

There are several factors on the roads that impact bicyclists’ safety. This research aims to find the most important risk factors on roads, mainly in infrastructure facilities, to improve the safety for walkers, runners, and bicyclists. Most mobile cycling applications currently used by cyclists and runners were reviewed in this study in order to gain insight about the features that users care about. Features, such as speed, cumulative elevation gain, and connectivity to Google Fit, were found to be the most common features in the widely-used cycling apps. In this research, we developed and launched a mobile application for crowd-sourcing …

15-01 Effect Of Cycling Skills On Bicycle Safety And Comfort Associated With Bicycle Infrastructure And Environment, Jun-Seok Oh, Valerian Kwigizile, Kapseong Ro, Ahmad Feizi, Brent William Kostich, Raed Abdullah Hasan Hasan, Fadi Abdallah Mousa Alhomaidat

Transportation Research Center Reports

This study seeks to improve the methodology for determining the relationship between cycling dynamic performance and roadway environment characteristics across different bicyclists’ skill levels. To achieve the goal of this study, an Instrumented Probe Bicycle (IPB) equipped with various sensors was built. A naturalistic field experiment, including intersections, roundabout, alignment changes, and different road surface conditions, was conducted. Two self-reported questionnaires were used in order to obtain each participant’s skill level as well as perception on the level of cycling comfortability. The Cycling Comfortability Index (CCI) was derived from the probabilistic outcome of an Ordered Probit Model, which describes the …

15-11 Assessing Transit Oriented Development Strategies With A New Combined Modal Split And Traffic Assignment Model, Guangchao Wang, Anthony Chen, Ziqi Song, Songyot Kitthamkesorn

Transportation Research Center Reports

Transit oriented development (TOD) has emerged in recent years as a promising paradigm to promote public transportation, increase active transportation usage, mitigate congestion, and alleviate air pollution. However, there is a lack of analytic studies investigating the benefits of TOD quantitatively. Two major challenges of modeling a multimodal transportation network with TOD areas are: (1) failing to consider differences in feasible travel options available to different households in TOD areas may lead to inaccurate representations of travelers’ mode choice behavior, and (2) route overlapping is one of the major concerns in the route choice models used in the traffic assignment …

15-10 Development Of Multi-Class, Multi-Criteria Bicycle Traffic Assignment Models And Solution Algorithms, Seungkyu Ryu, Anthony Chen, Keith Christensen, Keechoo Choi

Transportation Research Center Reports

Cycling is gaining popularity both as a mode of travel in urban communities and as an alternative mode to private motorized vehicles due to its wide range of benefits (health, environmental, and economical). However, this change in modal share is not reflected in current transportation planning and travel demand forecasting modeling processes. The existing practices to model bicycle trips in a network are not sophisticated enough to describe the full cyclist experience in route decision-making. The purpose of this paper is to develop a multi-class and multi-criteria bicycle traffic assignment model that not only accounts for multiple user classes by …

Inspire E-News 8 2017, College Of Engineering And Applied Sciences

College of Engineering and Applied Sciences News

• Young inventors enjoy innovation and entrepreneurship camp
• Georgeau Institute awards five research grants to address global construction challenges
• Butt named fellow of Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers
• WMU hosts 4th Annual Summer Conference on Livable Communities

15-02 Estimating And Enhancing Public Transit Accessibility For People With Mobility Limitations, Jun-Seok Oh, C. Scott Smith, Rostam Qatra, Mohammad Al-Akash

Transportation Research Center Reports

This two-part study employs fine-scale performance measures and analytical techniques designed to evaluate and improve transit services for people experiencing disability. Part one puts forth a series of time-sensitive, general transit feed system (GTFS)-enhanced employment accessibility models that account for multiple transportation modes, categories of functional limitation and design characteristics of existing public transit infrastructure. Model results shed light on the degree to which a medium-size city’s public transit system addresses the gap between a theoretical continuum of rider capacities and the physical demands required to achieve mobility and access to employment. Our research finds that an individual’s combined physical …

15-03 Real Time Bicycle Simulation Study Of Bicyclists' Behaviors And Their Implication On Safety, Valerian Kwigizile, Jun-Seok Oh, Raed Hasan, Cole G. Villalobos, Aous Hammad Kurdi, Anil Shaw

Transportation Research Center Reports

The main goal of this study was to build a bicycle simulator and study the interaction between cyclists and other roadway users. The simulator developed was used in conjunction with Oculus Rift googles to create a virtual cycling environment. The virtual riding environment contained roadway infrastructures and features such as intersections, crosswalks, bicycle lanes, shared-lanes, etc. It also contained both motor vehicles and pedestrians that interacted with cyclists. The rider’s perception and reactions to different situations were investigated based on their performance during four virtual simulation scenarios with an electroencephalogram (EEG) readings. In addition to the results on interactions of …

Inspire E-News 5 2017, College Of Engineering And Applied Sciences

College of Engineering and Applied Sciences News

• WMU assistant professor receives $500,000 NSF CAREER Award
• Entrepreneurial engineer wins Brian Patrick Thomas Award
• Formula SAE team competes at Michigan International Speedway
• $318,000 grant will support research efforts of Department of Defense

60th Conference On Senior Engineering Design, College Of Engineering And Applied Sciences

Senior Engineering Design Conference

The 60th Conference on Senior Engineering Design Projects. The conference was held from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.,Tuesday, April 18, 2017 at the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences on the Parkview Campus of Western Michigan University. The College of Engineering and Applied Sciences sponsored the conference to showcase the work of its graduating seniors, who are required to complete a capstone project that puts into practice what they have learned. Many of the projects are sponsored by business and industry.

Turbulence Analysis For The Improvement Of Internal Combustion Engine Efficiency, James R. Macdonald, Claudia Fajardo-Hansford

Research and Creative Activities Poster Day

Developing a complete understanding of the structure and behavior of the near-wall region (NWR) in reciprocating, internal combustion (IC) engines and of its interaction with the core flow is needed to support the implementation of advanced combustion and operating strategies to improve engine efficiency. The NWR in IC engines is fundamentally different from the canonical steady-state turbulent boundary layers (BL), which have been extensively researched. Motivated by this need, this poster presents results from the analysis of two-component velocity data measured with particle image velocimetry near the head of a single-cylinder, optical engine. The interaction between the NWR and the …

A Statistical Model For Emergency Medical Services Response To Motor Vehicle Crashes In Michigan, Megan Kuk

Research and Creative Activities Poster Day

The response time is a crucial element of Emergency Medical Services (EMS). However, there are neither federal nor state (specifically Michigan) laws in place to regulate EMS response times, and standards are being set by individual vendors or local organizations. Investigation into response time performance measures may lead to further discoveries, innovations, and potentially identify best practices to improve existing systems used by EMS. Leading to quicker access to care for the end users (crash victims) and potentially saving numerous human lives.

Evaluation Of The Effectiveness Of Clearview Font And Fluorescent Yellow Sheeting On Michigan’S Freeways, Lusanni Acosta Rodriguez

Research and Creative Activities Poster Day

Halation and irradiation make guide sign fonts hard to recognize. Drivers missing the needed information tend to be anxious and confused potentially causing fatal accidents. In order to avoid or mitigate the situation a newer font, Clearview, is installed to provide better readability in nighttime and from far distances. In a similar, context, the lack of brightness in sheeting material for warning signs leads to missing the cautionary information. Installation of fluorescent yellow sheeting provided signs with more noticeable and brighter materials. This study evaluates the effectiveness of the Clearview fonts along with fluorescent yellow sheeting installed in Michigan freeways. …

Computer Simulation Of Flexiblity And Inertial Effects On Self-Propelled Swimming Bodies, Ye Luo, Tai-Hsien Wu

Research and Creative Activities Poster Day

In this research, a numerical simulation method is employed to simulate a flapping movement for a flexible slender swimmer in a fluid. Our objective is to study dynamic behaviors of the flapping movement. Fig. 1 shows a sketch of the simulation: the leading edge of the swimming body is swung in the vertical direction to generate a horizontal thrust force, which drives the body itself to cruise in the horizontal direction in a fluid. The simulation is based on a combination of three numerical methods: the Lattice Boltzmann Method (LBM), Lattice Spring Model (LSM), and Immersed Boundary Method (IBM). The …

Satellite Sequencing Optimization Using A Genetic Algorithm, Andrew Verstraete

Research and Creative Activities Poster Day

The problem of mission design for a robotic servicing satellite in geosynchronous Earth orbit (GEO) was investigated. A representative set of potential client satellites was selected, and operational needs were randomly assigned based on the average number of GEO retirements, anomalies, and repositioning maneuvers that currently occur each year. An objective function was developed to represent the value of servicing mission sequences, including client fees, time penalties, and operational risk. A genetic algorithm was then used to find sequences of operations on the potential client set that maximized the objective function’s value. Scenarios were analyzed with the database of satellites …

Analysis Of Emergency Medical Services Response Continuum For Motor Vehicle Crashes In Michigan, Megan Kuk

Research and Creative Activities Poster Day

Timely response of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel at a crash site may help prevent loss of life and thereby impact the quality of life for an individual at risk. This study was conducted to review The Michigan Department of Community Health, Emergency Medical Services Section data collected over a 5-year period beginning in 2010. Specific intentions were to identify current EMS response, treatment, and transport trends.

An Interactive Web-Based Tool For Fatigue Analysis And Life Prediction, Daniel Kujawski

Faculty Research and Creative Activities Award (FRACAA)

• Interactive web-based tool creates a modern approach to fatigue analysis and life prediction for use in engineering classrooms.
• Bridge the gap between theory and reality.
• The unique attributes of this software allows engineering students to learn and gain more insight to fatigue analysis in a given semester.

Inspire E-News 4 2017, College Of Engineering And Applied Sciences

College of Engineering and Applied Sciences News

• Concrete canoe team hopes it has a “Blueprint” for success
• Steel bridge team builds momentum before competition
• Engineering student named University Innovation Fellow by Stanford
• Saeed receives $418,000 grant from National Institutes of Health
• Top engineering seniors honored as 2017 Presidential Scholars

15-09 Impact Of Access Management Practices To Pedestrian Safety, Deo Chimba, Henry Ajieh

Transportation Research Center Reports

This study focused on the impact of access management practices to the safety of pedestrians. Some of the access management practices considered to impact pedestrian safety included limiting direct access to and from major streets, locating signals, limiting the number of conflict points and separating conflict areas, removing turning vehicles from through traffic lanes, using nontraversable medians to manage left-turn movements and providing a supporting street and circulation system. The study evaluated through statistical modeling the correlation between access management practices to pedestrian crashes. Focused on the impacts of access management on pedestrian crashes, eight (8) major roadway corridors were …

Inspire E-News 3 2017, College Of Engineering And Applied Sciences

College of Engineering and Applied Sciences News

• SAE Baja vehicle shreds the track in the Blizzard Baja
• Engineering deans bring ideas and issues to Capitol Hill
• Formula SAE vehicle to hit the track at Fiat Chrysler before competition

Inspire E-News 2 2017, College Of Engineering And Applied Sciences

College of Engineering and Applied Sciences News

• College brings IMAX Dream Big film to community
• WMU to be leader in innovative construction research
• New laser assisted process offers better drilling for advanced materials
• Engineers Week Dinner to feature MDOT state transportation director

15-07 App-Based Crowd Sourcing Of Bicycle And Pedestrian Conflict Data, Stephen Mattingly, Colleen Casey, Taylor Johnson

Transportation Research Center Reports

Most agencies and decision-makers rely on crash and crash severity (property damage only, injury or fatality) data to assess transportation safety; however, in the context of public health where perceptions of safety may influence the willingness to adopt active transportation modes (e.g. bicycling and walking), pedestrian-vehicle and other similar conflicts may represent a better performance measure for safety assessment. For transportation safety, a clear conflict occurs when two parties’ paths cross and one of the parties must undertake an evasive maneuver (e.g. change direction or stop) to avoid a crash. Other less severe conflicts where paths cross but no evasive …