Engineering Commons^™

Comparing North American Professional Sports League Season Formats Using Monte Carlo Simulation, Lathan Gregg

Industrial Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Each NFL, NBA, and MLB season consists of a regular season, in which teams play a set number of scheduled games and a playoff, in which qualifying teams compete for a championship. At the conclusion of each season, teams are ranked based on their performance throughout the season. This study aims to investigate the ability of each league's season format to accurately rank teams using Monte Carlo simulation. Matches between two teams are simulated by using the team’s assigned strength ranks to calculate a winning probability for each team. The winning probabilities are simulated with different skill values, dictating how …

The Analysis Of Mechanical Exfoliation Of Graphene For Various Fabrication And Automation Techniques, Lance Yarbrough

Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Mechanical Exfoliation of Graphene is an often-overlooked portion of the fabrication of quantum devices, and to create more devices quickly, optimizing this process to generate better flakes is critical. In addition, it would be valuable to simulate test pulls quickly, to gain insight on flake quality of various materials and exfoliation conditions. Physical pulls of graphene at various temperatures, pull forces, and pull repetitions were analyzed and compared to the results of ANSYS simulations, solved for similar results. Using ANSYS’ ability to predict trends in exfoliations, flake thickness and coverage using stress and deflection analyses were investigated. Generally, both strongly …

Reliability Modeling And Improvement Of Critical Infrastructures: Theory, Simulation, And Computational Methods, José Carlos Hernández Azucena

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation presents a framework for developing data-driven tools to model and improve the performance of Interconnected Critical Infrastructures (ICIs) in multiple contexts. The importance of ICIs for daily human activities and the large volumes of data in continuous generation in modern industries grant relevance to research efforts in this direction. Chapter 2 focuses on the impact of disruptions in Multimodal Transportation Networks, which I explored from an application perspective. The outlined research directions propose exploring the combination of simulation for decision-making with data-driven optimization paradigms to create tools that may provide stakeholders with optimal policies for a wide array …

Dpd Guided Insight On The Formation Process Of Polyethersulfone Membranes By Nonsolvent Induced Phase Separation And The Effects Of Additives, Eric Ledieu

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Dissipative particle dynamics (DPD), a coarse grain simulation method, was applied to the membrane formation process of non-solvent induced phase separation (NIPS) to gain further insight on the mechanism of certain variables and how they affect the final morphology. NIPS involves two solutions, an organic polymer dissolved in an organic solvent colloquially called the dope and an aqueous coagulation bath, brought into contact with one another. The solvents then mix, causing the polymer to fall out of solution as an asymmetric membrane with a dense surface layer and a more open subsurface layer in response to the decreasing solubility. Polyethersulfone …

Simulating Emergency Evacuation Response In An Auditorium Space, Anna Lee

Industrial Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The successful execution of emergency evacuations is very important for the protection of the public. Some emergency events, such as fires, can occur with very little warning and turn into a dangerous situation in less than a minute. With high population densities, universities have increased risk involved with evacuations. One specific area that presents high risk is auditorium spaces such as lecture halls with high densities combined with added barriers such as tables and chairs. The ability to assess a building’s emergency preparedness is necessary for keeping the public safe. Simulation is a way to conduct a theoretical event and …

Modeling Damage Spread, Assessment, And Recovery Of Critical Systems, Justin Burns

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Critical infrastructure systems have recently become more vulnerable to attacks on their data systems through internet connectivity. If an attacker is successful in breaching a system’s defenses, it is imperative that operations are restored to the system as quickly as possible. This thesis focuses on damage assessment and recovery following an attack. A literature review is first conducted on work done in both database protection and critical infrastructure protection, then the thesis defines how damage affects the relationships between data and software. Then, the thesis proposes a model using a graph construction to show the cascading affects within a system …

A Versatile Python Package For Simulating Dna Nanostructures With Oxdna, Kira Threlfall

Computer Science and Computer Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The ability to synthesize custom DNA molecules has led to the feasibility of DNA nanotechnology. Synthesis is time-consuming and expensive, so simulations of proposed DNA designs are necessary. Open-source simulators, such as oxDNA, are available but often difficult to configure and interface with. Packages such as oxdna-tile-binding pro- vide an interface for oxDNA which allows for the ability to create scripts that automate the configuration process. This project works to improve the scripts in oxdna-tile-binding to improve integration with job scheduling systems commonly used in high-performance computing environments, improve ease-of-use and consistency within the scripts compos- ing oxdna-tile-binding, and move …

Enabling The “Easy Button” For Broad, Parallel Optimization Of Functions Evaluated By Simulation, Andrew Gibson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Java Optimization by Simulation (JOBS) is presented: an open-source, object-oriented Java library designed to enable the study, research, and use of optimization for models evaluated by simulation. JOBS includes several novel design features that make it easy for a simulation modeler, without extensive expertise in optimization or parallel computation, to define an optimization model with deterministic and/or stochastic constraints, choose one or more metaheuristics to solve it and run, using massively parallel function evaluation to reduce wall-clock times.

JOBS is supported by a new language independent, application programming interface (API) for remote simulation model evaluation and a serverless computing environment …

Development Of A Solidworks Simulation Toolkit For A Sophomore Level Biomedical Engineering Course, Jordan Crosby

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

In the engineering industry, computer-aided design (CAD) programs are used to create models and create virtual experiments or studies that allow engineers to observe the real behavior of parts or assemblies under certain conditions. Companies hire students with experience in CAD, as professionals believe that CAD experience is beneficial [1,2]. SolidWorks is among the most popular CAD software used by engineers. SolidWorks has multiple functionalities that also allow for finite element analysis dependent on the license. Users can create simulation studies in SolidWorks Simulation that can be used as an accurate approximation for real results.

The goal of this study …

Optical Properties Of Ultrathin In(Ga)As/Gaas And In(Ga)N/Gan Quantum Wells, Yurii Maidaniuk

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Recently, structures based on ultrathin quantum wells (QWs) began to play a critical role in modern devices, such as lasers, solar cells, infrared photodetectors, and light-emitting diodes. However, due to the lack of understanding of the formation mechanism of ultrathin QWs during the capping process, scientists and engineers cannot fully explore the potential of such structures. This study aims to investigate how structural parameters of ultrathin QWs affect their emission properties by conducting a systematic analysis of the optical properties of In(Ga)As/GaAs and In(Ga)N/GaN ultrathin QWs. Specifically, the analysis involved photoluminescence measurements combined with effective bandgap simulation, x-ray diffraction, and …

A Simulation Approach To Evaluate The Impact Of Breast Cancer Overdiagnosis On Patient Outcomes, Sierra Wagner

Industrial Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Breast cancer overdiagnosis risk is difficult to estimate and varies significantly across current research. This research establishes a simulation approach to examine the relationship between breast cancer overdiagnosis and patient outcome and understand the impact that the range of breast cancer overdiagnosis rate estimates in the current literature has on patient outcomes. Overdiagnosis is represented in this study by a set of disease regression probabilities. Using microsimulation, we evaluate patient outcome, measured by number of mammograms and lifetime breast cancer mortality risk, as a function of treatment policy and regression probability. We use numerical experiments to evaluate treatment policies and …

A Simulation Tool For Evaluating The Environmental Impacts Of Management Scenarios For Modern Broiler Production Systems, Martin Andrew Christie

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this work is to provide a simulation tool that allows broiler production practitioners and researchers to simulate the effects of farm design and management practices on resource consumption and environmental impacts. This tool allows the user to design unique farms and simulates on farm processes required to raise broiler chicks to a marketable age. The use can input data such as farm location, broiler breed, flock size, ration type, barn dimensions, and climate control equipment specifications. The algorithms used to simulate broiler breed specific feed intake, broiler weight gain, and other on farm processes such as heating, …

Design And Cost Analysis Of Acrylic Acid Plant, Adam Ferrier

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The purpose of this project was to model and design a plant to produce 75,000 tons per year of acrylic acid. Using the design in section B.9 of Richard Turton’s Analysis, Synthesis, and Design of Chemical Processes as a starting point, a plant was designed based around the partial oxidation of propylene to acrylic acid. The final plant design produces about 86,000 tons per year of acrylic acid. Using an interest rate of 10%, the plant has a discounted cash flow rate of return of 32% over 2 years of startup and 10 years of operation. Attached is an executive …

Simulating Alternative Tuberculosis Diagnosis Methods In Underdeveloped Countries, Luke Turner

Industrial Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Tuberculosis is the deadliest infectious disease in the world; it is especially rampant in underdeveloped countries because they do not have the infrastructure, technology, or funding to properly combat the infection. However, the development of portable point-of-care diagnosis machines can reverse this epidemic as they far surpass conventional laboratory identification. The question now is where to place these machines, which is a difficult decision with a lack of data. Therefore, a flexible simulation model is created to test the implementation of these machines with different countries and configurations. The simulation tests the baseline model and three proposed implementations of the …

Modeling Of Complex Parts For Industrial Waterjet Cleaning, Braden James

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Industrial high-pressure waterjet cleaning is common to many industries. The modeling in this paper functions inside a collaborative robotic framework for high mix, low volume processes where human robot collaboration is beneficial. Automation of pressure washing is desirable for economic and ergonomic reasons. An automated cleaning system needs path simulation and analysis to give the operator insight into the predicted cleaning performance of the system. In this paper, ablation, the removal of a substrate coating by waterjet, is modeled for robotic cleaning operations. The model is designed to work with complex parts often found in spray cleaning operations, namely parts …

A Scalable, Chunk-Based Slicer For Cooperative 3d Printing, Jace J. Mcpherson

Computer Science and Computer Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Cooperative 3D printing is an emerging technology that aims to increase the 3D printing speed and to overcome the size limit of the printable object by having multiple mobile 3D printers (printhead-carrying mobile robots) work together on a single print job on a factory floor. It differs from traditional layer-by-layer 3D printing due to requiring multiple mobile printers to work simultaneously without interfering with each other. Therefore, a new approach for slicing a digital model and generating commands for the mobile printers is needed, which has not been discussed in literature before. We propose a chunk-by-chunk based slicer that divides …

Effects Of Surface-Directed Spinodal Decomposition On Binary Thin-Film Morphology, Michael Brian Wise

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Preferential wetting can have a significant impact on the kinetics of phase separation in certain systems. The depletion of the wetting component can simply alter domain growth rates or change the structure entirely. In this thesis, we employ a Cahn-Hilliard model to study the evolution of binary thin-films with symmetric surface wetting. Three possible morphologies were identified: discrete, bicontinuous, and a novel quasi-2D bicontinuous structure in which both phases retain continuity throughout the volume as well as on the center xy plane. Using a continuity factor, regions of film thickness versus blend composition were classified as producing a certain morphology. …

The 3d Abstract Tile Assembly Model Is Intrinsically Universal, Aaron Koch, Daniel Hader, Matthew J. Patitz

Computer Science and Computer Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

In this paper, we prove that the three-dimensional abstract Tile Assembly Model (3DaTAM) is intrinsically universal. This means that there is a universal tile set in the 3DaTAM which can be used to simulate any 3DaTAM system. This result adds to a body of work on the intrinsic universality of models of self-assembly, and is specifically motivated by a result in FOCS 2016 showing that any intrinsically universal tile set for the 2DaTAM requires nondeterminism (i.e. undirectedness) even when simulating directed systems. To prove our result we have not only designed, but also fully implemented what we believe to be …

Dispensing Medical Countermeasures In Public Health Emergencies Via Home Health Agencies And Points Of Distribution, Anna Hudgeons

Industrial Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

A major concern regarding emergency preparedness on the state government level involves the handling and dispensing of the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) of medicinal supplies. Each state is required to update and maintain a plan of action for dispensing SNS materials that would effectively provide care to the state’s population in times of distress. This research evaluates a state’s ability to dispense an adequate amount of medicine to her population in a timely manner, specifically after it has been received by the state government. Although simulation modeling has previously been utilized to replicate the dispensing process at pre-designated points of …

Modeling And Simulation Of Iii-Nitride-Based Solar Cells Using Nextnano®, Malak Refaei

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Nextnano³ software is a well-known package for simulating semiconductor band-structures at the nanoscale and predicting the general electronic structure. In this work, it is further demonstrated as a viable tool for the simulation of III-nitride solar cells. In order to prove this feasibility, the generally accepted solar cell simulation package, PC1D, was chosen for comparison. To critique the results from both PC1D and Nextnano3, the fundamental drift-diffusion equations were used to calculate the performance of a simple p-n homojunction solar cell device analytically. Silicon was picked as the material for this comparison between the outputs of the two simulators as …

Personalized Decision Modeling For Intervention And Prevention Of Cancers, Fan Wang

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Personalized medicine has been utilized in all stages of cancer care in recent years, including the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and follow-up. Since prevention and early intervention are particularly crucial in reducing cancer mortalities, personalizing the corresponding strategies and decisions so as to provide the most appropriate or optimal medical services for different patients can greatly improve the current cancer control practices. This dissertation research performs an in-depth exploration of personalized decision modeling of cancer intervention and prevention problems. We investigate the patient-specific screening and vaccination strategies for breast cancer and the cancers related to human papillomavirus (HPV), representatively. Three popular …

Numerical Simulation Of Metallic Uranium Sintering, Bruce Berry

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Conventional ceramic oxide nuclear fuels are limited in their thermal and life-cycle properties. The desire to operate at higher burnups as is required by current utility economics has proven a formidable challenge for oxide fuel designs. Metallic formulations have superior thermal performance but are plagued by volumetric swelling due to fission gas buildup. In this study, we consider a number of specific microstructure configurations that have been experimentally shown to exhibit considerable resistance to porosity loss. Specifically, a void sizing that is bimodally distributed was shown to resist early pore loss and could provide collection sites for fission gas buildup. …

Applications Of Krylov Subspace And Balanced Truncation Model Order Reduction In Power Systems, Sebastian Emanuel Garrido

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Dynamic representations of power systems usually result in the order of hundreds or even thousands of buses. Therefore, reduction of these dynamic representations is convenient. Two applications of model order reduction in power systems are discussed in this thesis. First, Krylov subspace-based method is applied to the IEEE-123 Node Test Feeder in the context of distribution-level power systems simulation. Second, a Balanced Truncation-based model reduction is implemented in the 3-Machine 9-Bus system for designing a power system controller in the context of generation- and transmission-level power systems.

First, for the IEEE-123 Node Test Feeder, a two-sided Arnoldi algorithm is proposed …

Modeling Economic Impacts Of The Inland Waterway Transportation System, Furkan Oztanriseven

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The inland waterway transportation system of the United States (U.S.) handles 11.7 billion tons of freight annually and connects the heartland of the U.S. with the rest of the world by providing a fuel-efficient and environmentally friendly mode of transportation. This dissertation aims to create decision support tools for maritime stakeholders to measure the economic impacts of the inland waterway transportation systems under real world scenarios including disruptions, demand changes, port expansion decisions, and channel deepening investments. Monte Carlo simulation, system dynamics, discrete-event simulation, agent-based modeling, and multiregional input-output modeling techniques are utilized to analyze the complex relationships between inland …

Modeling And Simulation Of 1700 V 8 A Genesic Superjunction Transistor, Staci E. Brooks

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The first-ever 1.7kV 8A SiC physics-based compact SPICE model is developed for behavior prediction, modeling and simulation of the GeneSiC “Super” Junction Transistor. The model implements Gummel-Poon based equations and adds a quasi-saturation collector series resistance representation from a 1.2 kV, 6 A SiC bipolar junction transistor model developed in Hangzhou, China. The model has been validated with the GA08JT17-247 device data representing both static and dynamic characteristics from GeneSiC. Parameter extraction was performed in IC-CAP and results include plots showing output characteristics, capacitance versus voltage (C-V), and switching characteristics for 25 °C, 125 °C, and 175 °C temperatures.

Traction-Separation Relationships For Hydrogen-Induced Grain Boundary Embrittlement In Nickel Via Molecular Dynamics Simulations, Wesley Allen Barrows

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The deleterious effects of atomic and molecular hydrogen on the mechanical properties of metals have long been observed. Although several theories exist describing the mechanisms by which hydrogen negatively influences the failure of materials, a consensus has yet to be reached regarding the exact mechanism or combination of mechanisms. Two mechanisms have gained support in explaining hydrogen’s degradative role in non-hydride forming metals: hydrogen-enhanced localized plasticity and hydrogen-enhanced decohesion. Yet, the interplay between these mechanisms and microstructure in metallic materials has not been explained. Accordingly, for this thesis, the three main objectives are: (i) to develop a numerical methodology to …