Nozzle Erosion Reconstruction Model For Data Analysis In Rocket Engines And Correlation With Chamber Pressure, Ryan J. Thibaudeau, Stephen A. Whitmore

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Student Publications and Presentations

Graphite nozzles remain the dominant choice for small hybrid and solid rocket motors operating on laboratory and university budgets, owing to their low cost, ease of machining, and rapid turnaround during iterative design campaigns. These same programs, however, must contend with the fact that graphite erodes through coupled thermochemical and mechanical mechanisms when exposed to the oxidizing species generated by high-energy propellant combustion, and the resulting throat-area growth fundamentally alters the time histories of chamber pressure, thrust, and delivered specific impulse. This paper presents a nozzle-erosion reconstruction model that extracts the time-resolved throat area from coupled thrust and chamber-pressure measurements …

Effect Of Heat Treatments On The Corrosion Resistance Of A Trip Steel And Its Evaluation By Non-Destructive Testing, Karla Ivette Vega-Nava, Ariosto Medina-Flores, Marco Antonio Espinosa-Medina, José Sergio Pacheco-Cedeño, Héctor Guillermo Carreón-Garcidueñas, Francisco Fernando Curiel-López, Jose Jaime Taha-Tijerina

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

The development of advanced high-strength steels (AHSS) for the automotive industry requires optimizing the balance between mechanical properties and durability in aggressive environments. This study investigates the effects of two heat treatment routes on the microstructure and corrosion resistance of a transformation-induced plasticity (TRIP) steel (Fe-0.2C-1.75Mn-0.5Si-1Al). Route A includes a full austenitizing step at 1000 °C prior to intercritical annealing, whereas Route B omits this step and begins directly with intercritical annealing at 800 °C. Microstructural characterization (SEM/XRD), electrochemical assays, and eddy current tests were employed. The results revealed that Route A yields a homogeneous microstructure with 12.7% retained austenite, …

Mae Enewsbrief January-March 2026, Department Of Mechanical And Aerospace Engineering, Michigan Technological University

Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering eNewsBrief

No abstract provided.

Tidal River Flood Risk Highest During Intermediate Rather Than Peak River Discharge, Leicheng Guo, Adam T. Devlin, Ton Hoitink, Ian Townend, David A. Jay, Zheng Bing Wang, Chunyan Zhu, Hamed R. Moftakhari, Qing He, Fan Xu, Multiple Additional Authors

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Tidal rivers are defined as the tide‐influenced, salinity‐free inland reaches of estuaries. Understanding the occurrence of peak water levels (PWLs) is critical for flood risk management, yet the timing and magnitude of PWLs in tidal rivers have been little studied. We address this gap by investigating PWLs during two catastrophic floods (1954 and 2020) in the tidal Yangtze River, which reveals that PWLs are higher during perigean spring tides under intermediate discharges following peak flow. Three factors modulate the PWLs in tidal rivers: river‐enhanced tidal damping, flow‐elevation hysteresis that raises the falling flow limb of the hydrograph, and low‐frequency subharmonics. …

Printing Press Renewal, Ashley Mcguire, Margaret Wood Balch, Anna Kaetz, Timothy M. Wick

Libraries Professional Work

The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Libraries are home to a Chandler & Price printing press, originally built in 1885. Unfortunately, this press was not whole or fully operational when it was acquired by the UAB Libraries in the 1970s. Among its defects, the press lacked the treadle, Pittman arm, and crankshaft to power the press, a functioning rotating ink plate, a chase for holding the type in place, and the pin that keeps the large wheel turning in time with the gears that lead the machine to function. Members from the UAB Libraries Historical Collections and Reference and …

An Ensemble Learning-Based Approach To Quantify Post-Earthquake Functional Recovery Of A Steel Moment-Resisting Frame Inventory, Mohsen Zaker Esteghamati, Shiva Baddipalli

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

The quest for seismic resiliency requires designing for performance objectives beyond life safety. Functional recovery is an emerging objective often defined as the time required to restore a building’s basic functionality to the pre-event level. Nevertheless, quantifying functional recovery is a complex, computationally intensive process that is challenging to integrate into a standard design workflow. This study develops a machine learning (ML) model to map design and geometric features of steel special moment-resisting frames (SMRFs) to their functional recovery under two hazard levels: design-basis (DBE) and maximum considered (MCE) earthquakes. First, functional recovery time was quantified for an inventory of …

Investigation Of The Lower Block Rows In The King’S Chamber Of The Great Pyramid Using Ultrasonic Testing With Shear Wave Arrays, Benedikt Maier, Amr G. Hamza, Alejandro Ramirez-Pinero, Khaled Taie, Thomas Schumacher, Olga Popovych, Mohamed Elkarmoty, Mehdi Tayoubi, Hany Helal, Christian U. Grosse

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

This study investigates the internal geometry of the granite block rows in the King’s Chamber (KC) of the Great Pyramid of Giza using Non-destructive testing (NDT) with ultrasonic testing (UST) using shear wave echo arrays. As part of the ScanPyramids (SP) project measurement campaigns in 2022, the lower two block rows of all four walls were examined using ultrasonic shear-wave echo arrays (PD8000, Screening Eagle Technologies). The measurement strategy initially included rapid overview acquisitions using an 8-channel UST device to identify potential areas of interest. High-resolution, detailed measurements were then performed at these locations, particularly along the north wall (NW) …

Exploring Gene Regulatory Neural Network Biocomputing Of Bacteria, Adrian Merle Ratwatte

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has evolved from brain-inspired algorithms into a discipline that increasingly integrates with biological systems. While silicon-based platforms have advanced machine learning, they remain limited in energy efficiency and operation in environments beyond silicon. This motivates biological computing as an alternative, enabling efficient, resource-aware, and reconfigurable computing within living systems. This dissertation addresses these limitations by introducing a bacterial computing framework that models Gene Regulatory Networks (GRNs) as Gene Regulatory Neural Networks (GRNNs). The GRNN mirrors the structure and function of Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) through gene-gene interactions across trans-omic layers, enabling natural, self-regulating information processing within living …

Magnetic Cellulose Nanocrystal Composites: Synthesis, Properties, Applications, And Opportunities, Mohammad Jahid Hasan, Kishore Chand, Esteban E. Ureña-Benavides, Erick S. Vasquez-Guardado

Chemical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications

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Magnetic Cellulose Nanocrystal Composites: Synthesis, Properties, Applications, and Opportunities

Ion Irradiation Of Microelectromechanical Resonators, Hengky Chandrahalim, David D. Lynes

AFIT Patents

A method of enhancing an electromechanical coupling coefficient of a microelectromechanical (“MEMS”) device. The method includes applying, to a fully fabricated MEMS device, heavy particle ion radiation to the MEMS device at a fluence of at least 1×10¹⁴ cm.⁻². According to other embodiments of the present invention are directed to a bandpass filter comprising a plurality of MEMS devices fabricated in accordance with the methods provided. The MEMS of the plurality are electronically or mechanically coupled.

Micromechanical Behavior Of Copper Tailings And Sulfide-Bearing Ore, Odai Gifty, Sai Sandeep Chitta

Michigan Tech Publications

The mechanical performance of mining-derived granular materials is increasingly important for their reuse in geotechnical and transportation infrastructure, including the stability of tailings dams, yet their micromechanical crushing and frictional behaviors remains poorly understood. This study investigates single-particle uniaxial strength, failure mechanisms, and inter-particle loading behavior of copper tailings (CT) and an iron-sulfide-rich Ni–Cu-bearing material (FB), alongside a monomineralic quartz sand reference. Single-particle crushing tests at multiple loading rates were used to quantify strength distributions and failure mode frequencies, revealing that splitting governed most failures, particularly for FB, whereas quartz exhibited a broader spectrum of failure modes, including explosive and …

Label-Flip Attack Detection Via Trust-Weighted Aggregation In Federated Learning For Underground Mine Security, Md Sazedur Rahman, Sanjay Madria, Samuel Frimpong

Computer Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

Underground mining operations are increasingly dependent on autonomous vehicles, robotic drilling systems, and intelligent inspection platforms operating in confined, GPS-denied tunnel environments. These systems rely on distributed perception models to interpret navigation cues, hazard warnings, and environmental signals in real time. While centralized deep learning can enhance model performance, transferring raw operational data across mining sites introduces serious confidentiality and security risks. Federated Learning (FL) offers a privacy-preserving alternative by enabling collaborative model training without sharing local datasets. However, deploying FL in underground mining introduces several critical challenges: (i) Training labels may be modified either maliciously by compromised clients or …

A Storm-Ai Primer With An Operationally Representative Example, Shiu-Kai Chin, Matthew Clark, Garrett Katz, Jae C. Oh, William Young

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science - All Scholarship

A STORM-AI Primer with an Operationally Representative Example presents the Systems-Theoretic Technical and Operational Risk Management with Artificial Intelligence (STORM-AI) methodology, a transdisciplinary framework for establishing the trustworthiness of mission systems that may incorporate AI components. The core value proposition of STORM-AI is mission assurance—ensuring that mission systems behave with the predictability and proportionality required by senior leadership and demanded by international humanitarian law. STORM-AI achieves this by faithfully preserving commander's intent from high-level mission descriptions down to hardware-level behavioral specifications through a structured sequence of four formally grounded models: a Mission Model, a Protection (Loss Control) Model, a Security …

Rheological Protocol To Assess And Optimize Latex Coagulation Dynamics For The Thin Glove Coagulant Dipping Process, Monday U. Okoronkwo, Kok Kong Ng, Wolfram Franke, Gaurav Sant

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Many products that directly impact the quality of human life today — gloves, catheters, condoms, and baby bottle teats — are made through the latex-dipping technology. While a variety of methods have been developed – e.g., particle counting, turbidimetry, microscopy, and light scattering – which are suitable for studying the coagulation of latex at very low concentrations, much less work has focused on methods suitable for in-situ characterization of latex coagulation in concentrated solutions (e.g., as relevant to the dipping process). This paper presents a process-relevant rheological protocol for assessing and optimizing latex coagulation dynamics for the thin glove coagulant …

An Access-Control Logic In Hol (Trindemossen 2), Shiu-Kai Chin

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science - All Scholarship

This manual documents the embedding of an access-control logic (ACL) — as presented in the textbook Access Control, Security, and Trust: A Logical Approach (Chin and Older, 2011) — within the Cambridge Higher-Order Logic theorem prover HOL-4. The logic is a multi-agent modal logic with Kripke semantics. Its purpose is to reason about authentication, authorization, integrity, security, and trust. The inference rules of the ACL are proved to be sound. The inference rules are a command-and-control (C2) calculus. The value of the ACL is its support for rigorous, verified, and trustworthy policies for complete mediation, i.e., where all actions are …

Boiling Flow Estimation For Aero-Optic Phase Screen Generation, Jeffrey W. Utley, Gregery T. Buzzard, Charles A. Bouman, Matthew R. Kemnetz

Faculty Publications

Aero-optic effects due to turbulence can reduce the effectiveness of transmitting light waves to a distant target. Methods to compensate for turbulence typically rely on realistic turbulence data, which can be generated by i) experiment, ii) high-fidelity computational fluid dynamics (CFD), iii) low-fidelity CFD, and iv) autoregressive methods. However, each of these methods has significant drawbacks, including monetary and/or computational expense, limited quantity, inaccurate statistics, and overall complexity. By contrast, the boiling flow algorithm is a simple, computationally efficient model that can generate atmospheric phase screen data with only a handful of parameters. However, boiling flow has not been widely …

Nitrite Oxidation During Ozonation Revisited: Mechanisms Of Nitration Reactions, Tarek Manasfi, Christoph Dieziger, Simon A. Rath, Daisuke Minakata, Urs Von Gunten

Michigan Tech Publications

The formation of toxicologically relevant nitro compounds has been observed during ozonation of nitrite-containing secondary wastewater effluents, but their formation mechanism remains unknown. To identify key nitrating species, three reaction systems were investigated: ozonation of nitrite (O3/NO2^–), peroxynitrite (ONOOH/ONOO^–), and hydroxyl radical oxidation of nitrite with γ-radiolysis (γ/NO2^–). Nitrite ozonation (O3/NO2^–) yielded significant amounts of the nitrating agent nitrogen dioxide ^•NO2 (9.4% at pH 7 to 22% at pH 12) besides the main product nitrate. No peroxynitrite formation was detected during ozonation of nitrite-containing waters, suggesting that ^•NO2 is the …

Centrifugally Spun Silica Fibers For Lithium-Ion Battery Anodes: Structure And Cycling Stability, Alejandra Guerrero, Valeria Tirado, Jason Parsons, Mataz Alcoutlabi

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

Introduction: Silicon dioxide (SiO2) fiber structures have attracted attention as alternative anode materials for lithium-ion batteries because of their ability to improve cycling stability compared to commercial silicon particles.

Materials and methods: SiO2 composite fibers were prepared by centrifugal spinning of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)/SiO2 precursor solutions followed by calcination at 500–700 ◦C for different holding times to produce short-fiber composites and micro-belt SiO2 fiber structures. The morphology and crystal structure of the SiO2 short fibers and micro-belts were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS). Electrochemical performance was evaluated using CR2032 half-cells.

Results: The …

Past Present, & Future: Bushwick Inlet Redevelopment, Aaryan Nair

Publications and Research

This report examines how ecosystem structure, hydrology, and material flows in Williamsburg, Brooklyn have changed from pre-colonial conditions to the present and how they are expected to evolve under future climate change. Prior to European colonization, the landscape functioned as a forest–wetland mosaic with high infiltration capacity, slow water movement, and strong nutrient retention. These conditions supported stable aquatic ecosystems and minimized pollutant transport to the East River.

Modern urbanization has fundamentally altered this system. Impervious surfaces and engineered drainage systems have shifted hydrology from infiltration-dominated to runoff-dominated pathways, producing rapid “flashy” flows and reducing water residence time.

Storm events …

Force-Feedback And Load Sharing Mechanisms In Cardiac Myosin Ii Ensembles Revealed By Motor-Specific Perturbations, Omayma Alazzam, Md. Amzadul Hoque Chowdhury, Heath M. Stevens

Faculty and Student Publications

Myosin II motors within ensembles exhibit emergent force-generating behavior that varies based on ensemble size and makeup. However, the mechanisms by which myosins within ensembles sense and modulate behavior due to local and systemic changes in motor behavior, and concomitantly mechanics, remains unclear. To understand how myosin kinetics alter ensemble-level force generation, we employ myosin inotropes, specifically Mavacamten (MAVA) and Omecamtiv Mecarbil (OM), to pointedly alter myosin behavior in a concentration-dependent manner. MAVA has been shown to reduce the number of active myosin heads participating in crossbridge formation and force generation, while OM is recognized for prolonging motor attachment to …

Use Of Smart Safety Devices And Artificial Intelligence And Its Impact On Workplace Injury Reduction In High-Risk Industries In Cameroon: A Qualitative Exploration Of Worker And Management Perspectives, John Atabong Zifac

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Workplace injury has been a significant concern within high-risk industries in Sub-Saharan Africa, especially Cameroon, with weak worker safety standards, poor infrastructure, lack of compliance with regulatory requirements, and a limited level of digital infrastructure contributing to a high risk of worker injury. While artificial intelligence (AI) supported smart safety technologies have revolutionized the way companies conduct workplace safety management in developed nations, little research exists on the perception of these technologies and practicality among low-resource industrial operators in Sub-Saharan Africa. This qualitative phenomenological study investigated management and employee perceptions regarding the use of AI-based smart safety devices to reduce …

Transforming Dredged Sediment Into Reactive Clay: Critical Review Of Calcination, Reactivity, And Sustainable Valorization As Supplementary Cementitious Material, Seongho Han, Sanghwon Wi, Koochul Ji, Keun Hyeok Yang, Farshad Rajabipour, Kamal H. Khayat, Jinyoung Yoon

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Dredged sediment (DS) is generated worldwide in large volumes through routine port and waterway maintenance, yet its disposal presents environmental and economic challenges. Recently, calcined dredged sediment (CDS) has emerged as a supplementary cementitious material (SCM), offering a viable alternative to traditional SCMs, such as fly ash and slag cement. This review synthesizes current knowledge on the physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics of raw DS and pretreatment strategies aimed at dewatering, organic matter removal, and contaminant stabilization. The effects of calcination on the production of reactive amorphous aluminosilicates are also discussed. Emphasis is placed on physicochemical changes revealed by experimental …

Literature Landscape Of Government, Academic, And Industry Efforts In Responsible, Secure, And Trustworthy Ai, Jae C. Oh, Shiu-Kai Chin, Garrett Katz, William E. Young, Matt Clark

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science - All Scholarship

This report presents a systematic analysis of 54,628 AI research papers published between 2021 and 2025, examining the extent to which current government, academic, and industry efforts address the trustworthiness requirements of mission-critical AI systems. Papers were classified along two dimensions: organizational tier (from AI model to mission/business pro- cess) using NIST SP 800-39, and systems engineering lifecycle phase using ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288. Classification combined automated LLM-assisted screening with human validation, achieving inter-rater reliability measured by Krippendorff’s α and Gwet’s AC1. Only 16.8% of papers examined addressed any aspect of AI trustworthiness, reliability, or security, and virtually all were concentrated at …

Integrated Decision-Support Framework For Enhancing Coastal Community Resilience Against Hurricane-Induced Hazards, Kooshan Amini, Tanmoy Palit, Abigail L. Beck, Jayant Patil, Tao Lu, Himadri Sen Gupta, Yousef Darestani, Et. Al

Michigan Tech Publications

Coastal communities face escalating threats from hurricanes, necessitating a shift from descriptive risk assessment to prescriptive, optimized portfolio planning to enhance resilience. This study introduces an integrated decision-support framework that couples high-fidelity, multi-hazard socio-physical system modeling with a multi-objective optimization model. The framework quantifies the cascading impacts of hurricane-induced wind, storm surge, and waves on a community’s interdependent buildings, transportation network, and detailed distribution-level electric power network (EPN), along with the resulting population dislocation and long-term recovery. It then identifies Pareto-optimal portfolios of mitigation strategies by simultaneously minimizing three conflicting objectives—economic loss, population dislocation, and recovery time—under various budget constraints. …

Low-Carbon Concrete For Sustainable Construction: A Comprehensive Review Of Performance Characteristics, Implementation Challenges, And Decarbonization Pathways, Fazel Azarhomayun, Jingjie Wei, Kamal H. Khayat

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Reducing the carbon footprint of concrete has become a central objective in sustainable construction. Low-carbon concrete (LCC), developed primarily through clinker reduction, supplementary cementitious materials, and alternative binder strategies, offers a promising route for lowering embodied emissions while maintaining the performance requirements of structural concrete. This comprehensive review consolidates the current state of knowledge on LCC, identifies critical research and implementation gaps, and examines its material composition, mixture-design methodologies, performance characteristics, structural applications, implementation challenges, and decarbonization pathways. Single-SCM systems have been reported at clinker-replacement levels approaching 50%, although durability at these replacement levels, particularly carbonation resistance, remains system- and …

An Instance Segmentation Based Global Mppt Method For Pv Systems Under Partial Shading Condition, Ehab Ur Rahman, Yousef Mahmoud, Rui Bo

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Partial shading in photovoltaic (PV) systems creates multiple Local Maximum Power Points (LMPPs) on the power-voltage (P-V) curve, causing conventional Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) algorithms to converge prematurely to suboptimal operating points and resulting in significant energy losses. This work proposes a novel vision-based framework that integrates computer vision with Global Maximum Power Point Tracking (GMPPT) to maximize energy harvesting in partially shaded PV systems. The proposed method captures real-time imagery of PV panels to identify cell-level shading patterns, which are subsequently mapped to module electrical characteristics to enable direct analytical estimation of the GMPP voltage. An instance segmentation …

Converting Co2 Into Carbon Nanotubes Via Sequential Co2 Methanation And Methane Pyrolysis, Kaiying Wang, Hao Feng, Ahmad Helaley, Xiaoqing He, Bohong Zhang, Jie Huang, Xinhua Liang

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This study presents a sequential thermochemical catalytic process for converting CO₂ into carbon nanotubes (CNTs), achieving nearly 99% overall CO₂ conversion and solid carbon yields of up to 49% in a single pass. The overall transformation is divided into two thermodynamically favorable steps: (1) low-temperature CO₂ methanation to CH₄ over a sol-gel-prepared Ni87Ce_6.5Zr_6.5-SG catalyst, which achieved >95% CO₂ conversion at 250 °C in a single pass, and (2) subsequent methane pyrolysis to CNTs and H₂ over a Ni@Al₂O₃-IE core-shell catalyst, which showed improved stability and carbon …

Design Framework For Polymer Gel Treatments From A Database Of Field Projects, Baojun Bai, Munqith Aldhaheri, Mingzhen Wei

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This study compiles and analyzes data from over 125 published field projects around the world, covering nearly 900 treated wells. Building on those detailed studies, this paper distills the most important findings into a concise, practical, and actionable framework to guide where in-situ gel treatments should be applied, how they should be designed, and how their outcomes can be evaluated. The proposed workflow guides engineers through five integrated stages: screening appropriate gel types, designing formulation and injection strategies, predicting field response, evaluating treatment performance, and conducting iterative refinement with feedback loops to adjust designs based on observed outcomes. The framework …

Oriented Electrospun Fibers Of Poly(Pro-Curcumin/Peg) Sequester Reactive Oxygen Species And Promote The Growth Of Schwann Cells, Jack W. Devlin, Payton R. O'Connor, Conrad H. Cheung, John T. Leman, Martin Oudega, Edmund F. Palermo, Ryan J. Gilbert

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In the biological injury microenvironment, pathologically elevated oxidative stress hinders healthy cell migration. Aligned electrospun fibers are used as tissue engineering scaffolds to support and guide the directionality of cell migration. The ability of cells in the central nervous system to sequester and quench reactive oxygen species is limited, and most electrospun fibers do not exert any antioxidant activity on contact. Thus, the challenge remains in designing a scaffold that can both guide cells to the injury site as well as sequester and quench excess free radicals, allowing cells to thrive and potentially regenerate. Curcumin is a well-known, potent antioxidant, …

Assessing Planetiq Gnss-Ro Ionospheric Electron Density And Tecusing Ground-Based Ionosondes And Cosmic-2, Mohammed Alheyf, Mohamed S. Yamany, Ibrahim F. Ahmed

Faculty Publications

Radio occultation (RO) has become a key technique for monitoring the ionosphere by deriving electron density (Ne) profiles and total electron content (TEC) from GNSS signals. This study assesses the newly deployed PlanetiQ GNOMES constellation by validating its ionospheric Ne profiles and profile-based TEC against collocated measurements from ionosondes and the COSMIC-2 mission under both quiet and disturbed geomagnetic conditions. Data matching for the statistical validation uses conservative spatial thresholds of less than 1◦ in latitude and longitude and temporal limits of 30 min for ionosondes and 1 hfor COSMIC-2, supported by a dedicated sensitivity analysis, whereas storm-time case studies …