Engineering Commons^™

Evaluation Of The Alveolar Crest And Cemento-Enamel Junction In Periodontitis Using Object Detection On Periapical Radiographs, Tai Jung Lin, Yi Cheng Mao, Yuan Jin Lin, Chin Hao Liang, Yi Qing He, Yun Chen Hsu, Shih Lun Chen, Tsung Yi Chen, Chiung An Chen, Kuo Chen Li, Patricia Angela R. Abu

Ateneo Laboratory for Intelligent Visual Environments

The severity of periodontitis can be analyzed by calculating the loss of alveolar crest (ALC) level and the level of bone loss between the tooth’s bone and the cemento-enamel junction (CEJ). However, dentists need to manually mark symptoms on periapical radiographs (PAs) to assess bone loss, a process that is both time-consuming and prone to errors. This study proposes the following new method that contributes to the evaluation of disease and reduces errors. Firstly, innovative periodontitis image enhancement methods are employed to improve PA image quality. Subsequently, single teeth can be accurately extracted from PA images by object detection with …

Settingsorder Article Reprints Open Accessarticle A Model To Account For The Effects Of Load Ratio And Hydrogen Pressure On The Fatigue Crack Growth Behavior Of Pressure Vessel Steels, Ashok Saxena, Kip O. Findley

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

A phenomenological model for estimating the effects of load ratio R and hydrogen pressure P_H2 on the hydrogen-assisted fatigue crack growth rate (HA-FCGR) behavior in the transient and steady-state regimes of pressure vessel steels is described. The "transient regime" is identified with crack growth within a severely embrittled zone of intense plasticity at the crack tip. The "steady-state" behavior is associated with the crack growing into a region of comparatively lower hydrogen concentration located further away from the crack tip. The model treats the effects of R and P_H2 as being functionally separable. In the transient …

Surface Patterning On Zirconia Dental Implants Via Laser-Induced Shockwave Imprinting, Inomjon Majidov

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Zirconia is rapidly becoming a preferred alternative to titanium in dental applications, primarily due to its aesthetic resemblance to natural teeth. This material’s tooth-like color avoids the aesthetic issues associated with the grey metal tint of titanium implants. Additionally, zirconia is hypoallergenic, making it an ideal choice for patients with metal sensitivities or allergies. Despite these advantages, zirconia generally exhibits lower biocompatibility and osseointegration compared to titanium implants. This study investigates laser-assisted, controlled imprinting technique on zirconia surfaces to enhance these properties. Our research used zirconia pellets, produced from powdered monoclinic zirconia pressed in a pellet press machine. Two methods …

Thrombogenicity Of Biodegradable Metals, D. E.J. Anderson, H. H. Le, H. Vu, J. Johnson, J. E. Aslan, J. Goldman, M. T. Hinds

Michigan Tech Publications

Biodegradable metals offer a promising means to ameliorate many of the long-term risks associated with vascular devices made of conventional biostable stent metals. While numerous biodegradable metal alloys have been developed and characterized in animal models, knowledge of their blood reactivity and thrombogenicity remains unknown. Metal hemocompatibility is particularly valuable because current generation drug-eluting stents pose a significant long-term thrombosis risk. In this study, four pure metals, widely used as degradable base materials (Fe, Zn, Mg, and Mo), and three alloys commonly used in cardiovascular devices [NiTi, CoCr, and stainless steel (SS)] were evaluated. This work examined how each of …

Unrefined And Milled Ilmenite As A Cost-Effective Photocatalyst For Uv-Assisted Destruction And Mineralization Of Pfas, Eustace Y. Fernando, Zhiming Zhang

Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering Departmental Research

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are fluorinated and refractory pollutants that are ubiquitous in industrial wastewater. Photocatalytic destruction of such pollutants with catalysts such as TiO2 and ZnO is an attractive avenue for removal of PFAS, but refined forms of such photocatalysts are expensive. This study, for the first time, utilized milled unrefined raw mineral ilmenite, coupled to UV-C irradiation to achieve mineralization of the two model PFAS compounds perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluoro octane sulfonic acid (PFOS). Results obtained using a bench-scale photocatalytic reactor system demonstrated rapid removal kinetics of PFAS compounds (>90% removal in less than 10 …

Assessing Soil Properties & Suitability For Optimized Irrigation Development In Sudan, Northern Africa, Suhib O. Hamid

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Masters Project Reports

In Chapter 1, soil properties essential for efficient irrigation are thoroughly assessed. Factors such as soil texture, infiltration rates, and nutrient content are analyzed to provide insights into the selection of modern irrigation systems. Utilizing data collected from 3,192 locations through GPS and laboratory analyses, alongside sophisticated ranking systems, the research determines the most suitable irrigation methods for specific soil series. Findings highlight the remarkable efficiency of drip irrigation across various soil types, contrasting with the consistently lower performance of surface irrigation. The chapter emphasizes the significance of considering soil variability, evapotranspiration, and investment factors in selecting irrigation methods for …

Evaluation Of Roadway Reconfigurations In Louisville, Kentucky, William Staats, Adam Kirk

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

In 2009, Louisville Metro Public Works undertook its first roadway reconfiguration project, converting a section of Eastern Parkway (US 60A) from a four-lane undivided road to a three-lane section with a two-way left-turn lane and one travel lane in each direction. Since this initial project, Louisville Metro Public Works and the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) have completed 40 roadway reconfigurations to reduce the number of through lanes and reassign existing right-of-way to other roadway users. Additionally, the agencies have 25 more planned or proposed reconfiguration projects. This report documents the safety and operational performance of reconfigured roads. Across all projects, …

Story Of Your Lazy Function’S Life: A Bidirectional Demand Semantics For Mechanized Cost Analysis Of Lazy Programs, Liyao Xia, Laura Israel, Maite Kramarz, Stephanie Weirich, Koen Claessen, Nicolas Coltharp, Yao Li

Computer Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Lazy evaluation is a powerful tool that enables better compositionality and potentially better performance in functional programming, but it is challenging to analyze its computation cost. Existing works either require manually annotating sharing, or rely on separation logic to reason about heaps of mutable cells. In this paper, we propose a bidirectional demand semantics that allows for extrinsic reasoning about the computation cost of lazy programs without relying on special program logics. To show the effectiveness of our approach, we apply the demand semantics to a variety of case studies including insertion sort, selection sort, Okasaki's banker's queue, and the …

Rheology Modification Of Flowable Mortar With Co2, Sean Monkman, Soo Duck Hwang, Kamal Khayat

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The Rheological Properties of Mortar Samples with Different Additions of CO₂ during Mixing Were Determined. Flowable Cement-Based Mortars at Three Different W/c (0.55, 0.45 and 0.35) Were Produced and the Effects of CO₂ Gas Were Examined on the Fresh Properties of Slump Flow, Yield Stress and Plastic Viscosity. According to the Experimental Results, the Mortar Yield Stress and Plastic Viscosity Increased Faster over Time Than in a Reference System with the Increasing Addition of CO₂ and Greater Effects Were Seen at the Lowest W/c of 0.35 Than at the Others. the Impact of the CO₂ on …

Pinn-Chk: Physics-Informed Neural Network For High-Fidelity Prediction Of Early-Age Cement Hydration Kinetics, Md Asif Rahman, Tianjie Zhang, Yang Lu

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Cement hydration kinetics, characterized by heat generation in early-age concrete, poses a modeling challenge. This work proposes a physics-informed neural network (PINN) named PINN-CHK designed for cement hydration kinetics, to predict early-age temperature rises in cement paste. PINN-CHK leverages data-driven solutions to craft a high-fidelity prediction model, encompassing material properties and maturity functions in cement hydration. Trained on heated cement paste data, it simultaneously fits experimental results and underlying physics, yielding a mesh-free simulation. Incorporating governing partial differential equations (PDEs), and initial and boundary conditions into its loss function, PINN-CHK architecture undergoes rigorous benchmark testing, demonstrating unparalleled predictive accuracy compared …

Meteorological Data Mining And Synthesis For Supplementing On-Site Data For Regulatory Compliance, Ben Sonpon, Shoaib Usman, Joseph Smith, Sarah Kovaleski, Jason Wibbenmeyer

Nuclear Engineering and Radiation Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

Many regulatory requirements add significant delay in the licensing of new nuclear power stations. One area of particular interest is the environmental impact of potential atmospheric release. the purpose of this research is to demonstrate effectiveness of meteorological data mining and synthesis from offsite locations to reduce need for onsite data, hence allowing rapid licensing. the automated procedures tested for data mining and extraction of meteorological data from multiple offsite sources and the data analytic tool developed for data fusion are presented here. Three important meteorological parameters from regulatory compliance are considered for this analysis: wind velocity, wind direction, and …

Carbon Capture And Renewable Energy Policies: Could Policy Harmonization Be A Puzzle Piece To Solve The Electricity Crisis?, Mahelet G. Fikru, Fateh Belaïd, Hongyan Ma

Economics Faculty Research & Creative Works

The electricity market crisis, driven by factors such as increased energy demand, rising fuel prices, aging infrastructure, and greenhouse gas emissions, requires a multifaceted approach including the strategic implementation of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technologies, which despite high costs and potential adverse impact on renewable investments, can allow the use of fossil fuels to maintain grid stability, and simultaneously lower carbon footprint. Across the world, several nations are designing financial incentives and improving regulatory frameworks to reduce barriers to the deployment of CCS. However, it is not clearly understood whether and to what extent such policy support would affect …

Design And Simulation Of A Micro-Coiled Digitally-Controlled Variable Inductor With A Monolithically Integrated Mems Switch, A. Sharaf, Sh M. Eladl, A. Nasr, M. Serry

Faculty Journal Articles

This work introduces the design, analysis, simulation, and a standard MEMS fabrication process for a three-dimensional micro-coil with a magnetic core and a digital switch configuration using a completely integrated, fully MEMS-compatible process to achieve a digitally controlled inductance. The proposed design can also be utilized as a micro-transformer. The proposed design consists of five identical 3D coils and their corresponding MEMS switches. These coils are digitally controlled to achieve a variable inductor ranging from one-fifth of the coil inductance up to five times the coil inductance. A standard five-layer Polymumps process is proposed to fabricate the micro-coils and the …

Investigating Near-Field Radiative Heat Transfer With Titanium Carbide Mxenes And Slanted Columnar Thin Films, Sean Luke Murray

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This work investigates the mechanisms to manipulate and control the magnitudes of Near-Field Radiative Heat Transfer (NFRHT) using two-dimensional materials and nanostructured surfaces. NFRHT occurs when the geometrical features of the radiating objects or the separation distance between interacting bodies are comparable to or lower than the characteristic thermal radiation wavelength. NFRHT magnitudes surpass the blackbody limit by several orders of magnitude due to phenomena such as photon tunneling and new modes of energy transfer, like surface polaritons. Therefore, it is crucial to understand how material properties and surface nanostructures affect NFRHT.

The first part of this work examines the …

Review Of Fourth-Order Predictive Modeling And Illustrative Application To A Nuclear Reactor Benchmark. I. Typical High-Order Sensitivity And Uncertainty Analysis, Dan Gabriel Cacuci, Ruixian Fang

Faculty Publications

This work (in two parts) will review the recently developed predictive modeling methodology called “4th-BERRU-PM” and its applicability to nuclear energy systems as exemplified by an illustrative application to the Polyethylene-Reflected Plutonium (acronym: PERP) OECD/NEA reactor physics benchmark. The acronym 4th-BERRU-PM designates the “Fourth-Order Best-Estimate Results with Reduced Uncertainties Predictive Modeling” methodology, which uses the Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) principle to incorporate fourth-order experimental and computational information, including fourth (and higher) order sensitivities of computed model responses to model parameters, while yielding best-estimate results with reduced uncertainties for the first fourth-order moments (mean values, covariance, skewness, and kurtosis) of the optimally …

Transforming Construction? Evaluation Of The State Of Structural 3d Concrete Printing In Research And Practice, Alireza Hasani, Sattar Dorafshan

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

Additive manufacturing in construction has witnessed exponential growth over the recent years. In this paper, advancements in 3D Concrete Printing (3DCP) in additive construction are explored. The authors synthesize the states of research and practice of 3DCP technology for construction through an extensive examination of 137 projects and various publications. Insights are provided into the key factors influencing 3DCP structural performance. The technology is shown to be advantageous, although with varying benefits observed in different cases, including but not limited to reduced cost, labor requirements, material, and construction time. Nevertheless, challenges, such as limited control over the quality, unexplored long-term …

Assessing Even Flat-Fan Nozzles For Spot Spray Herbicide Applications, Thiago H. Vitti

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Herbicide efficiency in row-crop agriculture can be improved using precision technologies for controlling weeds and minimize agronomic, economic, and environmental impacts. Site-specific weed management technologies, such as spot-sprayers, allow herbicides to be sprayed only where weeds are present in the field. Understanding application parameters and their influence on weed control for site-specific spot-spray applications is essential. This research involved laboratory and greenhouse studies to investigate the coverage and coefficient of variation (CV) of even flat-fan spray nozzles under different spot-spray application scenarios, as well as the effect of weed size and application method on the control of various weed species …

Understanding And Tuning Magnetism In Van Der Waals-Type Metal Thiophosphates, Rabindra Basnet, Jin Hu

Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Over the past two decades, significant progress in two-dimensional (2D) materials has invigorated research in condensed matter and material physics in low dimensions. While traditionally studied in three-dimensional systems, magnetism has now been extended to the 2D realm. Recent breakthroughs in 2D magnetism have attracted substantial interest from the scientific community, owing to the stable magnetic order achievable in atomically thin layers of the van der Waals (vdW)-type layered magnetic materials. These advances offer an exciting platform for investigating related phenomena in low dimensions and hold promise for spintronic applications. Consequently, vdW magnetic materials with tunable magnetism have attracted significant …

Tellurium Enrichment In Copper Tailings: A Mineralogical And Processing Study, José L. Corchado-Albelo, Lana Alagha

Mining Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

As the global demand for tellurium (Te) increases, it is crucial to develop efficient recovery methods that consider existing supply streams. This research combines gravity separation and froth flotation processes to enhance the recovery of Te minerals from tailings produced during the beneficiation of copper porphyry ores. Prior to processing, a systematic and comprehensive characterization study of copper tailing (CT) samples was conducted to examine the deportment of Te minerals in different mineral phases and to understand their locking and liberation behavior. Characterization techniques included inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and TESCAN's integrated mineral analysis (TIMA). Copper tailing characterization …

Comparing Gas Composition From Fast Pyrolysis Of Live Foliage Measured In Bench-Scale And Fire-Scale Experiments, David R. Weise, Thomas H. Fletcher, Timothy J. Johnson, Wei Min Hao, Mark Dietenberger, Marko Princevac, Bret W. Butler, Sara S. Mcallister, Joseph J. O'Brien, E Louise Loudermilk, Roger D. Ottmar, Andrew T. Hudak, Akira Kato, Babak Shotorban, Shankar Mahalingham, Tanya L. Myers, Javier Palarea-Albaladejo, Stephen P. Baker

Faculty Publications

Background. Fire models have used pyrolysis data from oxidising and non-oxidising environments for flaming combustion. In wildland fires pyrolysis, flaming and smouldering combustion typically occur in an oxidising environment (the atmosphere). Aims. Using compositional data analysis methods, determine if the composition of pyrolysis gases measured in non-oxidising and ambient (oxidising) atmospheric conditions were similar. Methods. Permanent gases and tars were measured in a fuel-rich (non-oxidising) environment in a flat flame burner (FFB). Permanent and light hydrocarbon gases were measured for the same fuels heated by a fire flame in ambient atmospheric conditions (oxidising environment). Log-ratio balances of the measured gases …

Enhancing Thermal Stability Of Perovskite Solar Cells Through Thermal Transition And Thin Film Crystallization Engineering Of Polymeric Hole Transport Layers, Sanggyun Kim, Sina Sabury, Carlo A. R. Perini, Tareq Hossain, Augustine O. Yusuf, Xiangyu Xiao, Ruipeng Li, Kenneth R. Graham, John R. Reynolds, Juan-Pablo Correa-Baena

Chemical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications

Organic hole transport layers (HTLs) have been known to be susceptible to thermal stress, leading to poor long- term stability in perovskite solar cells (PSCs). We synthesized three 2,5-dialkoxy-substituted, 1,4-bis(2-thienyl)phenylene (TPT)-based conjugated polymers (CPs) linked with thiophene-based (thiophene (T) and thienothiophene (TT)) comonomers and evaluated them as HTLs in n-i-p PSCs. TPT-T (MB/C6), which has branched 2- methylbutyl and linear hexyl (MB/C6) side chains, emerged as a promising HTL candidate, enabling power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) greater than 15%. In addition, PSCs with this HTL showed an improvement in long-term stability at elevated temperatures of 65 °C when compared to those …

Data Files For Optical Imaging Provides Flowcytometry-Like Single Cell Level Analysis Of Hif-1Α Mediated Metabolic Changes In Radio-Resistant Head And Neck Squamous Carcinoma Cells, Jing Yan, Carlos Frederico Lima Goncalves, Pranto Soumik Saha, Cristina M. Furdui, Caigang Zhu

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Determination Of Binary Co2/H2 Adsorption Isotherms And Kinetics Over Porous Organic Cage Cc3 Via Zero-Length Column Technique, Jimmy D.L. Moreno, Kyle Newport, Ali A. Rownaghi, Fateme Rezaei

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Understanding the dynamics of mixed-gas adsorption is essential for industrial-scale adsorptive separations. Also, obtaining binary adsorption isotherms is essential to gain a better understanding of adsorbate-adsorbent interactions in multicomponent gas mixtures. Porous organic cages (POCs) are highly porous, crystalline materials, with a small average pore window that make them promising candidates for separation applications. In this work, we utilized zero-length column (ZLC) technique to not only determine the kinetics of CO₂/H₂ separation over CC3 but also obtain the binary adsorption isotherms. The ultra crystalline diffusivities of 1.49 x 10^–4 and 8.31 x 10^–5 cm^{2 …}

Carbon Capture And Renewable Energy Policies: Could Policy Harmonization Be A Puzzle Piece To Solve The Electricity Crisis?, Mahelet G. Fikru, Fateh Belaïd, Hongyan Ma

Economics Faculty Research & Creative Works

The electricity market crisis, driven by factors such as increased energy demand, rising fuel prices, aging infrastructure, and greenhouse gas emissions, requires a multifaceted approach including the strategic implementation of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technologies, which despite high costs and potential adverse impact on renewable investments, can allow the use of fossil fuels to maintain grid stability, and simultaneously lower carbon footprint. Across the world, several nations are designing financial incentives and improving regulatory frameworks to reduce barriers to the deployment of CCS. However, it is not clearly understood whether and to what extent such policy support would affect …

Development Of An Egg-Specific Mass Spectrometry Targeted Method For Processed Food Matrices, Liyun Zhang

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

Egg is a major food allergen in the United States, causing symptoms from mild reactions to severe anaphylaxis. An egg-free diet remains the only management approach for egg allergy. Therefore, individuals and families living with egg allergies rely heavily on allergen statements on packaged food products for informed food choices. Currently, no labeling regulations exist for unintentionally introduced allergens, posing risks to consumers with egg allergies. Therefore, it is critical to have an accurate and reliable detection method in allergen control and management to determine the concentration of total protein from allergenic food sources. Traditional enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays are routinely …

Development Of Feature Extraction Models To Improve Image Analysis Applications In Cancer, Yu Shi

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

Cancer poses a significant global health challenge. With an estimated 20 million new cases diagnosed worldwide in 2022 and 9.7 million fatalities attributable to the disease, the economic burden of cancer is immense. It impacts healthcare systems and imposes substantial costs for its care on patients and their families. Despite advancements in early detection, prevention, and treatment that have reduced overall cancer mortality rates, the growing prevalence of cancer, particularly among younger individuals, remains a pressing issue.

Recent advancements in medical imaging technology have progressed significantly with the help of emerging computer vision and artificial intelligence (AI) technology. Despite these …

Investigation Of Faults In Air-Conditioning Systems In Commercial Buildings: Occurrence, Diagnostic Validation, And Energy Impacts, Yuxuan Chen

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

In commercial buildings, fault detection and diagnosis (FDD) tools have been developed for detecting and diagnosing faults in building systems, which can provide useful information regarding fault locations and potential causes of faults, so that building operators and facility staff can be notified in time and quickly respond as problems arise. Nowadays, there are many commercial FDD tools available in the market, and these tools have been widely adopted in large- and medium-scale commercial buildings in the United States. Several studies have demonstrated the energy saving potential with the use of FDD in commercial HVAC systems, and one critical aspect …

Long Term Ultrasonic Monitoring And Machine Learning Investigation Of Micro-Crack Damaged Concrete, Yalei Tang

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

The thermal modulation method is a recently developed nonlinear ultrasonic technique for evaluating material damage. This method utilizes thermal strain changes resulting from temperature variations to excite the nonlinear behavior of materials and modulate high-frequency ultrasonic waves within them. Its working principle suggests significant potential for application in large-scale concrete structures and in-situ monitoring of real structures. Despite numerous laboratory demonstrations of its effectiveness, several gaps remain before it can be applied to in-service large concrete structures.

This study investigates the potential of the thermal modulation technique for evaluating concrete structures in ambient conditions, addressing key uncertainties for practical implementation. …

Laser Surface Processing For Enhanced Adhesion Between Diamond Coatings And Metallic Substrates, Zhipeng Wu

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

Application of diamond coatings on metallic substrates endows them with superior properties including mechanical robustness and corrosion resistance, rendering them highly adaptable for diverse industrial and technological applications. However, significant disparities in coefficients of thermal expansion (CTEs) result in pronounced residual stress near interfaces, causing delamination of the diamond coatings. Moreover, weak chemical bonding poses a concern for certain metallic substrates. Laser surface processing techniques show promise in enhancing adhesion by altering stress distribution and improving mechanical bonding. Therefore, the research efforts described in this dissertation mainly focus on femtosecond (fs) laser texturing for enhanced adhesion of diamond coatings on …

Applying Circuit Theory To Describe Changes In Structural Landscape Connectivity In Response To Wildfire, Christian Ross Nielsen

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Understanding and conserving ecological connectivity is critical to the preservation of vulnerable landscapes. Circuit theory, in which landscapes are imagined as circuit boards with varying resistances to the flow of current, is being increasingly used to model spatially explicit connectivity of landscapes and to inform land management and conservation decision-making. Utilizing continuous, quantitative estimates of percent cover by five land cover functional groups to create a conductance surface, this study expanded upon an established application of circuit theory that used the open-source software Circuitscape to model species-agnostic, omnidirectional connectivity. This model was automated using Python to create time-series connectivity maps …