Engineering Commons^™

Optimal Planning And Design Of Operations And Maintenance Systems For Offshore Wind Farms, Md Imran Hasan Tusar

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Feasible and sustainable sources of power are a critical issue nowadays. Offshore wind farms (OWF) can be a solution to power generation problems, but it is relatively more expensive— their installation cost is more than twice of their comparable size onshore counterparts. The cost that matters most is the operations and maintenance (O&M) cost. Expensive and sophisticated transfer vehicles and highly skilled technicians are needed to conduct O&M activities, resulting in a remarkably higher O&M cost for an offshore wind farm project. Offshore wind turbines can capture more wind than onshore turbines because of their larger structure and location in …

A Distributed And Hybrid Ai-Based Security Framework For 5g Real-Time Applications, Ali Ghubaish

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation develops a multifaceted security framework tailored for 5G-enabled real-time Internet of medical things (IoMT) systems to significantly enhance the security infrastructure within healthcare environments. The framework pivots around three core technological advancements: the development of the Light feature Engineering based on the Mean Decrease in Accuracy (LEMDA), the construction of a 5G testbed that serves as a distributed intrusion detection system (IDS), and the implementation of a hybrid deep reinforcement learning (HDRL) method. LEMDA represents a breakthrough in data processing for IoMT systems. By intelligently reducing data complexity, LEMDA enhances the speed and accuracy of threat detection mechanisms, …

A Rechargeable Metal-Co2 Battery Using Lower-Cost Materials, Chris Fetrow

Nanoscience and Microsystems ETDs

High energy density, low-cost chemical conversion batteries are widely studied for their potential application to applications in which current battery technologies are unsuitable replacements for fossil fuel-powered systems. The demonstration of rechargeable chemical conversion batteries, and particularly batteries without the fatal flaw of high overpotential due to the difficulties inherent to chemical conversion reactions, is of great interest to further both this aim. In this work, a secondary Al-CO2 battery was demonstrated using a homogeneous aluminum iodide redox mediator to enable the battery’s discharge and charge at a high energy density and a low overpotential of 0.05 Volts. The operation …

A Deep Learning Framework For Blockage Mitigation In Mmwave Wireless, Ahmed Hazaa Almutairi

Dissertations and Theses

Millimeter-Wave (mmWave) communication is a key technology to enable next generation wireless systems. However, mmWave systems are highly susceptible to blockages, which can lead to a substantial decrease in signal strength at the receiver. Identifying blockages and mitigating them is thus a key challenge to achieve next generation wireless technology goals, such as enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) and Ultra-Reliable and Low-Latency Communication (URLLC). This thesis proposes several deep learning (DL) frameworks for mmWave wireless blockage detection, mitigation, and duration prediction. First, we propose a DL framework to address the problem of identifying whether the mmWave wireless channel between two devices …

Experimental Investigation On Downstream Characteristics Of S809 Airfoil With And Without Passive Flow Control Device, Mano S

Theses and Dissertations

The wake behaviour of extended flat plate (EFP) and serration in the trailing edge of S809 airfoil is presented in this experimental study using wind tunnel testing for several freestream turbulence intensities (TI). The clustering wind turbines in wind parks has recently been an important problem, as it involves determining the number of wind turbines to be installed to increase the power output.

The downstream wake characteristics are one of the most significantparameter that influence the performance of subsequent wind turbines.These wind turbine blades are made up of airfoil cross sections and need to be studied in detail. A series …

An Integrated Resource Planning Proposal For Tucson Electric Power, Valeria Bernal

Master's Projects and Capstones

An integrated resource plan (IRP) is crucial for utilities to determine the most cost-efficient energy resources while considering system reliability, environmental impact, and regulatory requirements. VitalsparK developed an IRP for Tucson Electric Power (TEP) to transition its current 70% thermal and 30% renewable energy portfolio, emitting 740 grams of CO2 per kWh, toward carbon neutrality by 2050. The proposed plan involves retiring existing infrastructure, adding 8 GW of renewable and storage capacity, and incorporating 2.5 GW of net-zero natural gas power plants. VitalsparK presented two scenarios: the Reference (REF) Case, which focuses on the least-cost portfolio to meet demand through …

Learning Proximal Operators With Gaussian Process And Adaptive Quantization In Distributed Optimization, Aldo Duarte Vera Tudela

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In networks consisting of agents communicating with a central coordinator and working together to solve a global optimization problem in a distributed manner, the agents are often required to solve private proximal minimization subproblems. Such a setting often requires a further decomposition method to solve the global distributed problem, resulting in extensive communication overhead. In networks where communication is expensive, it is crucial to reduce the communication overhead of the distributed optimization scheme. Integrating Gaussian processes (GP) as a learning component to the Alternating Direction Method of Multipliers (ADMM) has proven effective in learning each agent's local proximal operator to …

Residential Ders In Service-Oriented Load Participation: Enhancing Grid Flexibility, Zhongkai Zeng

Dissertations and Theses

Amidst concerns about power consumption during peak periods and potential grid instability, the role of Distributed Energy Resource (DER) aggregation comes into consideration. Smart electric water heaters with remote capabilities and energy storage offer load reduction capabilities that can help maintain grid stability and manage residential energy consumption. DERs address challenges posed by stochastic renewable energy generation and fossil fuel power plant emissions, playing a contributing role in load shifting and enhancing grid flexibility by participating in energy management programs.

However, high unenrollment rates in demand response programs, notably programs that use direct load control, persist due to customer dissatisfaction. …

Redeveloping System Noise Temperature Test Capabilities For Dss-17 Using The Moon As A Noise Source, Emily R. Walter

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A thesis presented to the faculty of the College of Science and Engineering at Morehead State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree Master of Science by Emily R. Walter on May 16, 2024.

Design Of An Integrated System For The Protection Of Patient Health Information In Medical Images, Manikandan V

Theses and Dissertations

Electronic clinical data such as Patient Health Information (PHI) is stored by adapting the Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) standard to build an integrated healthcare system where medical images from various sources can be interlinked. The healthcare industry poses a threat from hackers, and the information fetched by hackers provides more money than the other information stolen. This thesis deals with designing and analysing encryption algorithms, key generation mechanisms, and information-hiding schemes for protecting PHI.

Sensitive multimedia information of all forms is encrypted, with a key, before storage and transmission to protect it from illegal use and manipulation …

Redesign Of Leg Assembly For Remote Walking Training Device To Improve Gait Kinematics, Jacob Anthony

Mechanical Engineering Theses

As modern medicine has improved, the average age of patients has increased. This has cause a growing number of patients to develop disabilities over time due to spinal cord injuries and stroke among other neurological ailments. This has led to an increased interest in developing robotic exoskeletons to help patients with neuromuscular rehabilitation. However, most exoskeletons do not accurately replicate the natural human gait kinematics due to a lack of degrees of freedom at the designed knee joint. In this thesis, the leg assembly for a robotic rehabilitation (RoboREHAB) device is redesigned to improve the gait kinematics and a reinforcement …

Development And Evaluation Of Muon Scattering Tomography Reconstruction Techniques For Spent Fuel Verification, Jesus J. Valencia

Nuclear Engineering ETDs

The International Atomic Energy Agency has acknowledged the need to “efficiently verify and maintain knowledge of spent fuel in shielding/storage/transport containers at all points in their life cycle”. Cosmic-ray muon scattering tomography has shown potential to create reconstruction images of dry cask contents that would be useful for in-situ verification of spent fuel within dry casks.

In this document, several muon scattering tomography reconstruction techniques are explored using experimental track data through a partially filled dry cask container and steel drum test object. Two three-dimensional reconstruction techniques, a backprojection and newly developed combined depth of field algorithm, are evaluated. The …

Machine Learning For Graph Algorithms And Representations, Allison Gunby-Mann

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

This thesis explores a variety of common graph theoretic problems from a machine learning perspective. The topics covered include fundamental network problems such as distance approximation, distance sensitivity, community detection, cross-network alignment, and graph embedding dimension reduction. These projects are unified by the theme of machine learning on graphs, graph embeddings, and representations of graphs.

Meadowminds: An Ai Literacy Game, Michelle Yavorskiy, Lydia Kim

Computer Science and Engineering Senior Theses

The emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) in our everyday lives has created a need for educating young people of the fundamentals and capabilities of AI in an engaging and effective manner. "MeadowMinds: An AI Literacy Game" aims to address this need by creating a game that simplifies complex machine learning (ML) concepts into an accessible 3D world for middle school students. This project follows a structured, agile development approach, incorporating comprehensive user research and feedback. The objectives of this project included transforming ML concepts, such as clustering and embedding in Large Language Models (LLMs), into interactive gameplay. We utilized various …

Demand Response And Peer-To-Peer Energy Trading For Residential Microgrid, Kanakadhurga D

Theses and Dissertations

Demand Side Management (DSM) is vital in handling uncertain renewable power generation and demand in a deregulated power system. The flat load profile can be obtained using the Demand Response (DR) techniques with the storage elements and proper switching. The increasing penetration of renewable-based distributed generation (DGs), batteries, and electric vehicles (EVs) supports the DR measures that facilitate utility and consumer.

This research aims to minimize the peak demand, electricity cost, and emission rate by effectively utilizing the storage with Renewable Energy Sources (RES). The first specific aim of the research objective focuses on the impact of DR implementation, DGs …

Coupling Treatment Technologies With Bioelectrochemical Systems To Optimize Resource Recovery From Wastewater, Matthew Stephen Ferby

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Wastewater is a common waste produced from municipal, agricultural, and industrial processes. As the world’s population increases, the amount of wastewater produced globally is expected to reach approximately 450 billion m3 in the next two decades. Issues surrounding water, food, and energy accessibility will also become more imminent as the population grows. Interestingly, wastewater is an unconventional source of resources including water, nutrients (e.g., NH4+ and PO43-), and energy. However, conventional wastewater treatment processes focus primarily on the removal of containments rather than the recovery of resources. Bioelectrochemical systems (BES) have the ability to recover resources from wastewater. These engineered …

Data-Driven Evaluation Of Deep Generative Models In Biomedical Imaging, Rucha Milind Deshpande

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Deep generative models (DGMs) have tremendous potential for several biomedical imaging applications such as data augmentation, image reconstruction, and image denoising. However, the deployment of DGMs in real-world biomedical imaging workflows without domain-relevant evaluations can jeopardize patient health and well-being. The evaluation of DGMs in biomedical imaging is challenging due to several factors: requirement of domain expertise for visual inspection, lack of a mathematically defined ground truth, and the unclear relevance of popular evaluation measures adopted from the computer vision literature. Given these challenges, one way to evaluate DGMs is via purposefully designed synthetic data. In this thesis, two frameworks …

Improving And Modeling Heterogeneous Streaming Computation, Clayton Faber

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Data streaming algorithms are a class of problems that deal with moving data through a system while being processed. When implementing these types of algorithms a developer will spend time tuning an implementation for deployment, but if they are using heterogeneous architectures or when nodes of computation are physically separate from one another performance may be lost to unforeseen data movement complications. In this work we aim to alleviate some of these pain points through a combination of programming advice and mathematical models. One of the pain points often unseen and underappreciated by developers is a type of data streaming …

Air Quality Assessment On Local And Hyperlocal Scales, Zhiyao Li

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Air quality monitoring across local and hyperlocal scales has attracted increased attention from both the public and research community. There are several approaches such as passive samplers and low-cost air quality sensors, depending on the pollutant and measurement objectives. Local and hyperlocal air pollutant measurements help to characterize local emission sources such as traffic and industry, including separating these signals from large scale influences (e.g., urban and regional scales), and better understand how land use types and meteorology influence pollutant spatiotemporal patterns. Low-cost sensors (LCS) are now a popular approach to monitor several criteria pollutants (e.g., particulate matter (PM), ozone, …

Exploring Applications Of Artificial Intelligence In Water And Wastewater Management Systems, Yanran Xu

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Water and wastewater management systems play an essential role in satisfying residential, commercial, and industrial needs, but these systems suffer from undesired issues and high expenses, which stresses the need for sustainable development and system optimization. Modeling simulation is commonly used to optimize system performance through process prediction and precise control, and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies including machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL) are showing their advantages in the application of water and wastewater management systems. A general framework was illustrated for optimized performance and enhanced explainability of ML models. Several analytical techniques were explored, including feature engineering, data …

Structural Dynamics Of The Human Brain In Vivo From Tagged Mri And Mr Elastography, Jordan De Niro Escarcega

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

The underlying mechanics surrounding vulnerability of human brains in response to impact is critical to our ability to diagnose and treat traumatic brain injury (TBI), but our understanding of brain mechanical behavior is incomplete. Tagged MRI (tMRI) and magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) are two imaging techniques that are used to visualize and quantify deformation fields in human brains in vivo. The objective of this thesis is to gain a better understanding of brain vulnerability, by quantitively analyzing deformation fields extracted from in vivo human imaging studies. This was achieved through the following aims: (1) Extract mode shapes and natural frequencies …

Development, Numerical Simulation And Turbulence Modeling Of A Sustainable Transonic Truss-Braced Wing Aircraft Using Liquid Hydrogen Fuel And Active Flow Control, Bryce Zachary Thomas

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

There is pressing need for emissions reduction and an increase in efficiency for the next generation of commercial aircraft in order to reduce the environmental impact of the aviation sector and combat global climate change. The implementation of alternative fuels as well as new engine and wing designs are actively being explored as methods to reduce emissions. This thesis analyzes the implementation of hydrogen fuel, a transonic truss braced wing and active flow controls as means to improve the performance of a medium range commercial airliner. The widespread adoption of cryogenic liquid hydrogen (LH2) fuel as a green alternative to …

Application Of Finite-State Wake Models To Rotors Re-Entering Their Own Wake, Michael Seay Morrow

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

This paper details the development of a finite-state, dynamic wake model for the purpose of modeling a helicopter rotor reentering its own wake. This model stems directly from both the Peters-Morillo wake model to determine the velocity field on and above the helicopter rotor and the Peters-Fei model to compute the velocity field below the rotor. The specific case of nonzero net thrust was evaluated under assumptions of axial flow and potential flow theory. Results consist of computations of the inflow velocity for this case, along with comparison to closed-form, potential flow solutions for validation. The finite-state model is shown …

Longitudinal Spatial Trends In U.S. Pedestrian And Bicyclist Fatalities, Ossiris Rodriguez, Nicholas N. Ferenchak

Civil Engineering ETDs

Between 2009 and 2022 in the United States (U.S.), pedestrian fatalities increased 82.3% and bicyclist fatalities increased 70.8%. Several studies have researched crash characteristics such as the people and roadways involved in these crashes. But where are these fatalities occurring within our regions and what spatial characteristics of these locations could be influencing this trend? We analyzed pedestrian and bicyclist fatality data from the last two decades using NHTSA’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) in relation to built-environment and socio-economic characteristics (such as street network density, transit access, poverty, and educational attainment) obtained from the U.S. Census and the U.S. …

Data-Driven Insights Into Spatial Patterns And Disease Etiologies Of White Matter Hyperintensities, Sugandha Roy

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

In this thesis, we have applied Orthogonal Projective Non-Negative Matrix Factorization (opNMF) to identify spatial patterns of white matter hyperintensities (WMH) within UK Biobank's imaging data. Our selection criteria excluded subjects with a history of neurological, mental, and specific cerebrovascular conditions, allowing us to focus on WMH patterns in a healthy aging population. We have interrogated the association of location-specific WMHs with a variety of demographic, clinical, and genetic factors. Our multivariable regression analysis evaluates the strength and nature of the associations between these factors and WMH distribution. The analysis integrates variables such as age, sex, smoking habits, medication usage …

Electrospun Shape Memory Fibers For Chronic Wound Surveillance, Avery Gunderson

Theses - ALL

Approximately 6 million patients suffer from chronic wounds each year. These wounds are highly susceptible to infection and subsequent biofilm formation. Biofilms are difficult to dislodge due to their protective extracellular matrix. Antibiotics cannot penetrate the biofilm matrix, so wound healing is often compromised. Current surveillance and treatment options, such as swabbing or dressings, are ineffective and often painful to the patient. Our approach is to employ a bacterial protease-responsive shape memory polymer (SMP) that combats biofilm formation and helps the healing process proceed. To aid in protease penetration and enhance wound dressing comfort, electrospinning can be used to produce …

Exploring The Impact Of Lake Browning On The Production Of Singlet Oxygen In Adirondack Surface Waters, Birdem Oz

Theses - ALL

Many inland lakes in temperate and boreal regions, including those in the Adirondack region of New York, are experiencing browning due to increased terrestrial inputs of colored dissolved organic matter (DOM). This phenomenon results from watershed recovery following declines in atmospheric acid deposition and shifts in precipitation patterns. Close coupling of changes in dissolved organic carbon levels and DOM quality in Adirondack lakes has important implications for ecosystem services, ranging from aquatic food web functioning to drinking water production. However, comparatively little is known about the potential effects of lake browning on carbon cycling and contaminant attenuation driven by the …

Systematically Testing The Clustering Properties Of Peptoids For Use In Medical Implants, Steven Matthew Axelsen

Theses - ALL

Peptoids are peptidomimetics, in which the side chains are carried by the backbone nitrogen atoms instead of the alpha carbon, resulting in N-substituted glycine repeat units. The cationic peptoids have antimicrobial properties and can be sequestered into anionic hydrogels as coatings on implantable devices to prevent infection. In a recent study, our lab investigated the self-assembly of short peptoids with 6 to 12 repeat units. We showed that peptoids can cluster into large aggregates or remain as individual molecules depending on the net charge and nature of the sidechains. This study also demonstrated that the complexation of peptoids with microgels …

Path Planning And Cyber-Physical System Integration In Unmanned Aerial Vehicles For Wireless Communication, Mohamad Hani Sulieman

Dissertations - ALL

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have become indispensable in a variety of fields, including surveillance, emergency response, packet delivery, and data collection for the Internet of Things (IoT). These systems are also critical in enhancing connectivity within cellular networks. This dissertation focuses on improving UAV operational efficiency and security by advancing trajectory optimization techniques, enhancing trajectory design through antenna radiation patterns, and increasing resilience against cyber-physical attacks, particularly GPS sensor faults. The first part of the study addresses UAV trajectory optimization in wireless communications, highlighting the significance of trajectory planning in improving the efficiency and reliability of UAV operations. Effective trajectory …

Investigation Of Hydropathy Of Proteins, Lipid-Modified Proteins, And Self-Defensive Biomaterials, Jingjing Ji

Dissertations - ALL

Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations serve as crucial tools for unraveling the underlying physical principles governing the structure and functionality of biological macromolecules. Experimental techniques provide valuable results, but sometimes it is quite difficult to explain phenomena at atomic and molecular levels. MD simulations investigate physical motion of atoms and molecules over microsecond time scale and compute the equilibrium properties. In this work, I investigated the hydropathy of proteins, lipid-modified proteins, and self-defensive biomaterials with atomistic MD simulations and coarse-grained (CG) MD simulations. The method, Protocol for Assigning a Residue's Character on a Hydropathy (PARCH) scale, is developed to characterize and …